Adhikari to Meet 20 Rebel Bengal MPs in Delhi Amid TMC Push for Disqualification

New Delhi, July 28: West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari is scheduled to travel to New Delhi on Tuesday to meet the 20 former Trinamool Congress (TMC) Lok Sabha MPs who joined the National Citizens’ Party of India (NCPI) following the announcement of the state Assembly election results.

The meeting comes at a politically sensitive time, with the Trinamool Congress intensifying its efforts to have the rebel MPs disqualified under the anti-defection law. The development has added a fresh dimension to the ongoing political contest between the ruling party in West Bengal and the Opposition.

The timing of the meeting is significant as it follows just a day after TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, urging him to expedite the disposal of petitions seeking the disqualification of the 20 lawmakers. The TMC has maintained that the MPs, elected on the party’s symbol, should lose their membership after switching allegiance to the newly formed NCPI.

Earlier, Abhishek Banerjee, accompanied by senior TMC parliamentarians Mahua Moitra and Kalyan Banerjee, had also met the Speaker personally to press for immediate action on the disqualification petitions. However, the Speaker’s office has yet to announce any decision on the matter.

While the Lok Sabha Secretariat has not formally recognised the legislators as members of the NCPI, they have already been allotted separate seating arrangements in the House, a move that has further fuelled political debate over their status.

Against this backdrop, Adhikari’s meeting with the rebel MPs has attracted considerable attention. The former TMC leader, now a senior BJP figure in West Bengal, is expected to hold discussions with the legislators at Banga Bhavan in New Delhi.

Although the official agenda has not been made public, sources indicated that the meeting will focus on issues concerning West Bengal, parliamentary strategy and coordination among the MPs. The legislators have publicly stated that they support the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre.

According to sources familiar with the discussions, one of the major topics could be the effective utilisation of Members of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) funds through improved coordination with the state administration. The MPs are also expected to deliberate on developmental priorities and projects that require intervention at the central level.

In addition, the leaders are likely to formulate a coordinated strategy on issues relating to West Bengal that could be raised during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament. Parliamentary interventions on governance, development, law and order, and state-specific concerns are expected to feature prominently in the discussions.

The meeting assumes added importance as uncertainty continues over the fate of the TMC’s disqualification petitions. The Lok Sabha Speaker’s eventual decision is likely to have far-reaching political consequences, not only for the 20 rebel MPs but also for the evolving political landscape in West Bengal, where both the BJP-led Opposition and the TMC are preparing for future electoral battles.

(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)