NCPI Rebels Invited to NDA Meeting as Party Seeks Recognition

The National Citizen's Party of India (NCPI), which has 20 rebel MPs who defected from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), has been invited to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting tomorrow. These MPs have filed a petition with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to join the NCPI. A decision on their petition is expected soon. The party suffered a major split after the TMC's defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections held in April this year. Twenty of the party's 28 Lok Sabha MPs rebelled against the leadership of Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee and joined the unrecognised political party Nationalist Citizens'Party of India (NCPI). The party is registered in Howrah, West Bengal. Rebel TMC MPs have petitioned the Lok Sabha Speaker to recognise their merger with the NCPI. A rebel MP said, "The petition regarding our merger with the NCPI is pending with the Speaker and we hope that a decision on this will be taken soon."