Lok Sabha Speaker Grants Separate Seating to Rebel TMC MPs

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla granted separate seating and a dedicated room to 20 Members of Parliament who broke away from the All India Trinamool Congress to merge with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India. While the Speaker has not yet formally approved the merger, the group has received recognition for seating. Led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, the rebel MPs announced their support for the National Democratic Alliance ahead of the Monsoon Session beginning July 20.

Sudip Bandyopadhyay will serve as the party leader in the House, with Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar as chief whip and Shatabdi Roy as deputy leader. The move significantly shifts the parliamentary alignment of the former TMC members.

In a separate action, Speaker Birla approved the merger of six rebel MPs from Shiv Sena (UBT) into the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde. This decision increases the strength of the Shinde-led faction to 13 members in the Lok Sabha.