17 NCPI MPs to join BJP before Durga Puja: Rebel TMC leader's big claim | India News - Hindustan Times

**Rebel TMC MP Basunia claims mass defection to BJP ahead of Durga Puja**

*New Delhi, September 14 —* In a startling declaration that has rattled the already volatile political landscape of West Bengal, rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia alleged on Monday that **17 of the 20 MPs belonging to the North‑Cooch Behar Parliamentary Interface (NCPI) will defect to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before the upcoming Durga Puja festivities**. Basunia, who was expelled from the TMC earlier this year for openly criticizing the party’s leadership, made the claim during a press conference in Kolkata, insisting that a “silent but decisive shift” is already underway as the BJP intensifies its outreach to disaffected legislators in the state’s northern districts.

The assertion has been met with swift denials from multiple quarters. Senior TMC leaders, including state chief Mamata Banerjee, dismissed Basunia’s statement as “political theatrics aimed at destabilising the party before the festival season”. The BJP, while refusing to confirm the numbers, issued a brief statement saying that it “continues to engage constructively with all elected representatives who share its vision for development and good governance”. Moreover, several NCPI MPs themselves have publicly rejected Basunia’s claim, asserting that they remain loyal to their current affiliations and will not switch parties en masse. Political analysts note that such mass defections are rare in West Bengal’s fiercely partisan environment, and they caution that the timing—just weeks before the culturally significant Durga Puja—could be an attempt to exploit communal sentiments for electoral gain.

The controversy has spilled onto the streets of Basunia’s home constituency of **Sitai** in the Cooch Behar district, where his return last week triggered protests. Residents, angry over what they described as “political opportunism” and even a minor incident involving the MP’s choice of footwear, gathered outside his residence to demand accountability. The protests underscore the broader fatigue among voters with frequent party‑hopping and intra‑party feuds. With the state’s next assembly elections slated for 2026 and the national Lok Sabha polls on the horizon, both the TMC and BJP are expected to intensify their campaigns, but Basunia’s claim adds an unpredictable variable to the already complex electoral calculus.

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