Kolkata, May 27 (PTI) Senior BJP leader Saumitra Khan has claimed that around 20 TMC MPs were in touch with the saffron camp, ready to switch sides if the party leadership gave its approval, a claim the opposition outfit dismissed as "bogus".
The TMC currently has 29 MPs in the Lok Sabha out of 42 from West Bengal, whereas the BJP has 12 and the Congress has one.
"Twenty TMC MPs are in touch with us. If the party leadership wants, they are ready to switch sides. If the BJP wants, the entire TMC will wind up in the next few days," Khan, a three-term Lok Sabha MP, told reporters on Tuesday.
Under the anti-defection law, at least two-thirds of the members of a parliamentary party need to switch sides together to avoid disqualification. In the TMC's case, with 29 MPs in the Lok Sabha, the number works out to around 19 or 20.
Rejecting Khan's claims, senior TMC MP Sougata Roy termed the reports as "baseless".
"It is absolutely bogus what the BJP and Soumitra Khan are feeding to reporters. Nothing of this sort will happen," Roy said.
Ahead of the 2021 assembly elections, several prominent TMC leaders had switched to the BJP, only to return after the Mamata Banerjee-led party retained power.
But the equations this time are different, with the BJP now in power in Bengal after ending the TMC's 15-year rule.
The speculation also comes at a time when signs of unease within the TMC have become increasingly visible, with several legislators, MPs and leaders publicly expressing discontent in recent weeks.