New Delhi, A relatively obscure political party has suddenly moved to the forefront of national politics after 20 rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday and announced their merger into the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). The party—which garnered a mere 822 votes in the 2023 Tripura Assembly elections and was hardly known to the general public—is now making headlines with the backing of 20 Lok Sabha MPs.

   What does the Election Commission record say about the NCPI?

According to Election Commission records, the NCPI was registered as a Registered Unrecognized Political Party (RUPP) on January 20, 2023. Although registered in West Bengal, the party contested its first election in Tripura.

Commission documents reveal that the party received total donations amounting to ₹1.13 lakh. Its treasurer is Sheuli Kundu, who also serves as a director for Biswabazar Private Limited and the Paschim Banga Asangathit Mahila Karmi Association. The registered address for both these entities and the NCPI is in the Banipur area of ​​West Bengal's Howrah district. The party's president is Uttiya Kundu, who is Sheuli Kundu's husband.

   Registered in Bengal, but why contest the first election in Tripura?

Despite having its headquarters in West Bengal, the NCPI made its electoral debut in the Tripura Assembly elections. According to media reports, party leader Shantanu Dey stated that the decision to contest in Tripura was driven by the aim to represent the marginalized tribal communities of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) region. The party had fielded candidates for seven seats, but the nomination papers of four candidates were rejected. Consequently, the NCPI could contest on only two seats under its own election symbol, while it extended support to an independent candidate for another seat.

   The journey from just 822 votes to 20 MPs

In the Tripura Assembly elections, the NCPI secured 536 votes for the Chawmanu seat and 286 votes for the Kailashahar seat, bringing its total vote count to just 822. Meanwhile, the party-backed independent candidate, Krishna Kumar Debbarma, received 376 votes from the Ambassa constituency. Neither the party nor its supported candidates achieved any significant success in the election.

However, political developments on Sunday completely transformed the party's standing. Twenty rebel TMC MPs announced their merger with the NCPI, suddenly propelling this small party into the limelight as a significant political force at the national level.

   Why couldn't the party contest elections in West Bengal?

According to NCPI leader Shantanu Dey, the party had planned to contest the 2023 West Bengal Panchayat elections, but this did not materialize due to limited resources. He explained that internal differences regarding financial matters arose after the Tripura elections, causing the party's activities to come to a near-standstill.

The party had also considered preparing for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, but a lack of resources proved to be a major hurdle there as well.

   Why did the rebel MPs meet the Lok Sabha Speaker?

Following the announcement that approximately two-thirds of TMC MPs were merging with the NCPI, a delegation of the rebel MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday evening. The MPs requested separate seating arrangements in the House and sought recognition for their new parliamentary group.

After the meeting, MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar stated that a formal letter seeking recognition as a separate parliamentary group had been submitted to the Lok Sabha Speaker.

   Will the rebel faction stake a claim to the TMC?

Senior MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay—part of the rebel faction and once considered a close associate of Mamata Banerjee—has indicated that this marks the first phase of the political process. He stated that following the merger with the NCPI, the next step would be to stake a claim to the TMC in July.

   Why was the path of merging with the NCPI chosen?

Political sources suggest that the rebel MPs did not wish to take the risk of forming a separate political party or parliamentary group at this stage. Doing so could have invited action against them under the anti-defection law. Consequently, they opted to merge with the NCPI, a party that was already registered.

According to sources, care was also taken throughout this process to ensure that the blame for a potential split in the TMC would not fall directly on any other party—particularly the BJP. In this context, the NCPI emerged as a suitable political platform for the rebel MPs.