The crisis within the Trinamool has taken a new twist. A leader of the Nationalist Congress Party of India (NCPI), who had initially opposed the merger of the 20 Trinamool rebels, has taken a U-turn and is now ready to welcome the new joinees.
The NCPI shot to national limelight yesterday after a rebel MP declared they would merge with the little-known political outfit from Bengal that had made its electoral debut in Tripura.
However, Shantanu Dey, NCPI's general secretary, told NDTV that the decision was taken without consulting him and other leaders and that others in the party had opposed such a merger.
Read: All About Nationalist Citizens Party, New Home Of 20 Rebel Trinamool MPs
Dey also accused Uttiya Kundu, a Howrah resident who is the NCPI's president, of taking money to allow the Trinamool rebels to join their party. "The party's president wants to align with them, but I do not support this move," he had said yesterday.
He has now changed his stand. He said that it was decided at a party meeting today that they would welcome the rebel Trinamool MPs within the NCPI fold. "We are a small party and want to work for West Bengal. The party's president and treasurer, Shewly Kundu, did not attend the meeting," he said.
Shewly Kundu, an advocate, is the wife of Uttiya Kundu.
She refuted Dey's claim that he was a founding member of the NCPI, stating that he has neither been the party's general secretary nor a member since 2023. She, however, refused to comment on the Trinamool rebels' merger.
"I was the founder president of this party. I have resigned from the post. The new president can give details. In Tripura, we were with the NDA. But I resigned as the president since I could not devote much time due to my practice," she told news agency ANI.
Read: Trinamool Rebel Bloc To Merge With Nationalist Citizens Party: Kakoli Ghosh
The NCPI has emerged as a key player amid the Trinamool crisis, garnering national attention despite lacking any state-level focus. The party was registered with the Election Commission as a Registered Unrecognised Political Party (RUPP) in 2023, weeks before the Tripura assembly elections.
Despite being registered in Bengal, the party made its electoral debut in Tripura. However, it failed to make any impact. It received total donations of just Rs 1.13 lakh, as per EC records.
Any merger of the rebels with the NCPI would deal a fresh jolt to the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool, which had been struggling to prevent defections since its defeat in the April-May elections. At least 20 rebel MPs have so far voiced their dissatisfaction with the Trinamool, with parliamentarian Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar indicating the number could go up.
from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/SIbQ7Az
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