NCPI Emerges as Significant Player in Indian Politics After Merging with Rebel TMC MPs

NEW DELHI: A lesser-known regional outfit that barely registered on India’s political radar has suddenly emerged as one of the most significant players in the Parliament after 20 rebel TMC MPs announced their merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). The dramatic development has transformed the six-year-old party from a marginal political formation into the second-largest ally in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), reshaping the parliamentary landscape and intensifying the crisis within the TMC. Founded in 2020, the NCPI was initially conceived as a platform focused on tribal welfare, nationalism and governance reforms. Though headquartered in Howrah, West Bengal, the party built its early organisational presence in Tripura, where it sought to position itself as an alternative to both the BJP and the Left. Party documents with the ECI list Shewly Kundu as the treasurer. The party’s president is Uttiya Kundu, husband of Shewly Kundu. In one Facebook post, Uttiya Kundu shared a picture with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Registered with the Election Commission as a Registered Unrecognised Political Party (RUPP) in January 2023, the NCPI made its electoral debut in the Tripura Assembly elections the same year. The results were not that encouraging. The NCPI fielded candidates in seven constituencies, though nominations in four seats were rejected and finally its candidates contested only two seats, securing a combined 822 votes. Including an NCPI-backed independent candidate, the broader electoral effort garnered just 1,198 votes, with none of the candidates coming close to victory and their deposits were forfeited.