The BJP-led NDA coalition could soon cross the 300-member mark in the Lok Sabha, thanks to the defection of 20 Trinamool Congress MPs. This came as rebel TMC MPs, led by Chief Whip Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, wrote to Speaker Om Birla's office requesting to sit separately. They want to support and join the BJP-led NDA. The BJP-led NDA currently has 292 MPs in the Lok Sabha. With the addition of 20 rebel MPs from the Trinamool Congress, it will reach 312.
That said, even if the Speaker accepts the demand of rebel TMC MPs, the NDA won’t have the two-thirds majority to pass a constitutional amendment bill such as increasing the number of seats, introducing women's reservation or 'one nation, one vote'.
Speculations are that the BJP is eyeing the eight MPs from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), eight from the Sharad Pawar-led NCP(S), four from the YSR Congress, one from the Shiromani Akali Dal and Zoram People’s Movement.
Monday meeting
On Monday, the rebel MPs met BJP leader Bhupendra Yadav in Delhi in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendhu Adhikari. The attendees included Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Prasun Banerjee, Asit Mal, Bapi Halder, June Malia, Jagadish Chandra Verma Basunia, Kalipada Soren, Arup Chakraborty, Partha Bhowmik and Sharmila Sarkar. The names of Yusuf Pathan, Rachana Banerjee, and Dev have already surfaced in the list of rebels.
Will Mamata lose the Jora Phool symbol?
Many political analysts believe it is only time before Mamata Banerjee loses her party’s symbol ‘Jora Phool’. The rebel faction now has a majority, both in the Assembly and Parliament, and could stake a claim for the party name and symbol.
According to the Election Commission's law, if the majority of the Trinamool public representatives in the Assembly, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and at the municipal and panchayat levels support the rebel camp, then the aggrieved parties can demand the name and symbol of the Trinamool party. At the same time, the support of the party office-bearers must also be with the rebels.
In Parliament, the rebels needed two-thirds of the members to avoid the anti-defection law or the dismissal of the MP post. The aggrieved members needed the support of 19 people, and they have already claimed 20. If the split in the party is legally recognised, they could claim themselves as the real Trinamool under the leadership of Kakoli. In this context, they will also be able to claim the election symbol of the Trinamool Congress.
However, Ritabrata Banerjee, the mastermind behind the split in the Assembly, has maintained that he has nothing to do with the split in the Trinamool parliamentary party. “I or we have nothing to do with the decision taken by the MPs in Delhi. Our position is clear. We will not take any position that will benefit the BJP. We will do whatever we do openly. If the government takes any positive step, we will call it positive."
However, Mamata camp MLAs allege that the split was sponsored by the BJP in both cases. Kunal Ghosh, a Trinamool MLA from Beleghata and leader of the Mamata camp, said, "The BJP is the sponsor in both cases. In Delhi, openly. Here (in the assembly) quietly."
