Trinamool Congress MPs Defect to NDA Amid Opposition Unity Talks

Mamata Banerjee was also present at the India Alliance meeting on Monday when the strategy for opposition unity was being worked out. But on the other hand, 14 MPs of her own party had reached 9, Motilal Nehru Marg to meet Union Minister Bhupinder Yadav. The 14 TMC Lok Sabha MPs who attended the meeting with Suvendu Adhikari today are Kakoli Dastidar, Satabdi Roy, Bapi Haldar, Arup Chakraborty, June Malih, Deepak Adhikari, Kalipada Soren, Jagdeep Basunia, Asit Mal, Abu Taher, Khalilur Rahman, Sharmila Sarkar, Prasun Banerjee and Partho Bhowmik. Twenty MPs of the Trinamool Congress party have written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla expressing their willingness to join the NDA. According to news agency PTI, Kakoli Dastidar said that 20 MPs, including her, have decided to support the BJP-led NDA. According to the TMC, the number of rebel MPs in the Lok Sabha will not change from two to three.