Lessons from 2021: Why BJP won’t induct TMC rebels

June 16, 2026 Headlinesnews

New Delhi: Rebel Trinamool Congress MPs Sunday took everyone by surprise when they announced their merger with the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a West Bengal-based unrecognised political outfit registered in 2023 that fielded candidates in the Tripura Assembly elections of the same year.

This party is set to have 20 MPs in Lok Sabha, with the rebel MPs conveying the merger to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in a meeting held on Sunday.

According to sources, several rebel MPs had earlier indicated they wished to join the BJP.

BJP insiders said the party leadership was hesitant about this idea due to several factors, including the fact that a decisive public mandate against the TMC in the recently concluded assembly polls was for ‘parivartan,’ and any tinkering with that would impact public perception.

“Since the beginning, the feedback the party leadership received from the state unit was that while they had no qualms about rebel TMC MPs joining a different party and extending support to the NDA, there were many apprehensions about them joining the BJP directly as they felt the public vote was for ‘parivartan’,” said a senior party leader.

The NCPI is listed as a Registered Unrecognised Political Party (RUPP)—meaning it is either newly registered or has not secured enough votes or seats in elections to gain recognition as a national or state party. A party that has never contested an election may also be categorised as a RUPP.

A senior BJP leader further stated that learning from its 2021 experience, when many TMC leaders and workers were inducted into the party—which many felt contributed to its reduced tally—the party is being cautious this time.

“The public did not accept us in 2021 because the party had, in a way, become a party of turncoats and rebels. We had accommodated many people from the TMC. The BJP firmly believes in its ideology –nation first and working for the Hindu cause. The 2021 elections showed us that relying on defectors hurt our image and people were not ready to give us a chance as they felt a real change could not be effected with so many TMC leaders in the party,” said the leader.

In 2021, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) secured 215 seats, while the BJP finished a distant second with 77 seats to become the official Opposition.

In the 2026 elections, the BJP upped its game in West Bengal. Led by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who has had an extended stay in the state, the party mounted a sustained campaign, bolstered by grassroots outreach and organisational discipline. These helped the BJP sharpen its edge, achieve a landslide victory, ousting Mamata Banerjee and her TMC.

“Ye chunaav parivartan ke liye tha. Sirf jhanda badalne se parivartan nahi hoga. Parivartan janta tabhi maanegi jab hum kisi bhi TMC se jude neta ko accept nahi karenge apni party mein West Bengal mein. (This election was for change. Change won’t happen just by changing the flag. The public will only accept change if we do not accept any leader connected to the TMC into our party in West Bengal),” said a senior party leader from the state, pointing out that state BJP president Samit Bhattacharya had clearly said TMC turncoats were not required to win elections.

In an interview earlier, Bhattacharya had said that while a number of TMC MLAs and MPs wanted to join the BJP, “right now, the door is closed”.

“We don’t need any TMC leader to win elections anymore. We have won on our own.”

However, when asked that rebel TMC MPs were extending support to the BJP anyway, a senior party leader said outside support from anyone is acceptable.

“Bahar se government ko koi bhi samarthan aur madad kar sakta hai. Kitni saari parties hain NDA mein..Abhi 24 parties hain jo sarkar ko madad karti hain vikas ke kaam aage le jaane mein. Lekin inka humari ideology ke saath koi matlab nahin hai isliye ye log humari party ke saath nahi ayenge,” he added.

“Anyone can extend support and assistance to the government from outside. There are so many parties in the NDA. At present, there are 24 parties that support the government to take forward its development agenda. But they have nothing to do with our ideology, and that is why they will not join our party.”

Also Read: TMC’s LoP in Bengal has given BJP control over both govt and Opposition. Mamata is rudderless

Public anger

One of the BJP leaders cited the public image of the TMC as one of the biggest factors in BJP deciding not to induct them.

There have been several incidents of TMC leaders facing public anger after the 4 May elections results, including eggs being hurled on leaders and their convoys including that of MP Abhishek Banerjee, and people shouting ‘chor, chor‘ at their sight.

“These corrupt people (TMC leaders) are being punished by the people on the streets. You must have seen the visuals. People are so angry and it is visible in their treatment of these people. The public wanted change, and when the vote itself was for change we can’t dilute it by accepting such leaders in our own party. Then there are many who have made anti-Hindu remarks and the public will never accept them,” said a West Bengal BJP functionary.

TMC leader Soumitra Banerjee attacked with eggs while being taken to court in Raniganj on Tuesday. | ANI

A party source said that the BJP is unwilling to take muslim MPs like Yusuf Pathan and others in the rebel camp and perhaps will not take them before the 2029 election as well.

A central BJP leader said that while the TMC MPs are not joining the BJP, the party will keep their interest in mind and ensure they remain within the NDA fold. “The merger is a long-drawn process and there are several technicalities too. We will keep these MPs with us and help them grow. Hum sabko saath rakhenge. A merger has to be with a party and keeping all scenarios in mind it was felt that it should be with NCPI,” said the leader.

Asked whether there was any possibility of them merging with the BJP in the future, the leader added: “In politics one can’t predict everything. The merger has happened and they have extended support to the NDA, let’s see what will happen in the future,” he added.

The BJP won 206 of 294 Assembly seats in West Bengal, and formed its government in the state for the first time.

The BJP, which had a vote share of around 4 percent in the 2011 assembly elections, has made significant inroads in West Bengal over the past decade. In the 2021 polls, even though it fell far short of a majority, its vote share surged to about 38 percent.

According to sources, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which played a crucial role in the West Bengal elections also had reservations about TMC leaders especially ‘tainted’ ones joining the party.

“Our workers as well as those of the BJP have been killed mercilessly trying to usher in change. The way TMC functions is not acceptable to the people and hence importing such people will only impact the morale of the party workers who toiled hard for the party,” said an RSS functionary.

He further said that there were also apprehensions that many TMC leaders were hoping to join the BJP in a bid to escape scrutiny over their ‘misdeeds’ for alleged corruption and crimes.

(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)

Also Read: Why TMC MPs may still face disqualification even if 20 or two-thirds form a bloc

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