17 Rebel TMC MPs May Join BJP Before Durga Puja, Claims Basunia; Others Deny

Cooch Behar MP Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia claimed on Monday that 17 of the 20 Lok Sabha members who defected to the Nationalist Citizens Party of India will join the BJP before or after Durga Puja. Basunia said the number would shield them from anti-defection law provisions, as it exceeds two-thirds of the 20-member group.

Fellow rebel MPs Satabdi Roy and Abu Taher Khan rejected Basunia's statement, saying he spoke in a personal capacity and no such collective decision has been taken. BJP's West Bengal unit chief Samik Bhattacharya said the party would not admit members merely because they wish to join.

Twenty of TMC's 27 Lok Sabha MPs switched to NCPI after the party's assembly election defeat in May. TMC chief Mamata Banerjee has approached the Lok Sabha Speaker and apex court seeking their disqualification.