Reportedly three Lok Sabha Members of Parliament from the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) Abu Taher Khan, Khalilur Rahaman, and Yusuf Pathan boycotted the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) parliamentary party ‘Mangal Milan’ meeting in New Delhi. This marks the second consecutive time the lawmakers, who represent Muslim-majority constituencies in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, chose to stay away from the ruling coalition’s gatherings.
The MPs formally declared that they will neither remain a part of the NDA nor merge with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), citing the necessity to protect the specific development interests and sentiments of their local electorate.The high-profile boycott took place despite the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the Parliament House complex. Speaking to reporters at the complex, Murshidabad MP Abu Taher Khan confirmed their complete refusal to align with the saffron party. While the trio skipped the primary NDA meeting, they later joined a parallel “coordination meeting” led by West Bengal Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and Union Minister Bhupender Yadav alongside 19 other NCPI members to discuss constituency development.
This internal dissent emerges just months after a 20-member breakaway faction of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) defected to form the NCPI following assembly elections.
The ongoing refusal of these three critical lawmakers to back the NDA complicates the group’s legal standing. The NCPI requires the absolute support of at least two-thirds of the TMC’s original 28 Lok Sabha seats (19 MPs) to secure safety under the anti-defection law, a threshold now put at immediate risk by the Murshidabad trio’s rebellion.
News Edit KV Raman
