TMC Rebel MPs' Merger With NCPI Delayed As Speaker Om Birla To Meet Abhishek Banerjee

The formal approval for 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs to merge with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) faces a delay as Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla decided to meet TMC leadership first. The Speaker's office wrote to TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of Mamata Banerjee and TMC floor leader, seeking to hear the party's views on the proposed merger.

On Sunday, the 19 rebel TMC MPs met Birla at his residence and submitted a letter seeking to merge with NCPI. Another rebel MP, Rachana Banerjee, met the Speaker on Tuesday. According to officials, Birla will take a final call only after hearing both sides, though the meeting is unlikely to change the outcome. The merger would make NCPI the NDA's second-largest party in the Lok Sabha, as the party currently has no MPs or MLAs in the country.