A significant parliamentary revolt within the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has emerged, with purported signatures of 19 MPs on a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker seeking recognition as a separate bloc under Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and extending support to the BJP-led NDA.
Ideology is dead; long live the numbers game that is being played with the sole intention of securing a two-third majority in the Lok Sabha for the NDA, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The AIADMK factions have reconciled after a period of division, with leaders claiming it was merely a 'difference of opinion' rather than a split. Rebel MLAs expressed their support for party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami, and both sides withdrew petitions seeking disqualification of legislators.
The dramatic development marked the culmination of a revolt that began with allegations of forged signatures on a letter proposing a Leader of Opposition and snowballed into an open challenge to the party leadership following the TMC's defeat at the hands of the BJP in the assembly elections.
Amid the buzz over a split in the ranks of Lok Sabha MPs of Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray through "Operation Tiger", Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said the "operation" has been successful. His deputy and Shiv Sena president Eknath Shinde said he never leaves an operation incomplete.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray Lok Sabha MP Omprakash Raje Nimbalkar, one of the six dissidents, on Sunday said he will decide his political course only after consulting the people of his constituency, even as the Uddhav Thackeray-led party hopes he will not defect.
There are strong possibilities of some Union ministers being sent to take organisational roles in the BJP and party office-bearers being inducted into the Modi ministry.
If you are feeling depressed, just watch this 15 year old on your TV! Your blues will fly away, exclaims Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
A group of dissident Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs, led by Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, plans to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to seek recognition as the 'real TMC' parliamentary group, claiming the support of 19 members amidst an escalating internal party crisis.
'BJP wanted a compromised Opposition and found a match in this faction of the Trinamool.'
The Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) has named Jyotiprakash Chatterji as its new president, a development that follows the merger of a Trinamool Congress (TMC) rebel Lok Sabha faction with the party. This announcement by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, a key figure in the dissident camp, comes amidst speculation about the party's leadership after its founder stepped down. However, details about Chatterji and the party's internal workings remain unclear, with some existing members expressing unawareness of the change.
Congress MP Manish Tewari has introduced a bill in Lok Sabha that seeks to allow parliamentarians to take an independent line in voting on bills and motions other than those affecting the government's stability in a bid to free them from "whip-driven tyranny" and promote "good lawmaking".
Rajya Sabha elections in Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana were marred by allegations of cross-voting and 'horse trading', leading to suspensions and warnings from the Congress party.
Vijay was appointed CM after he presented letters of support from the VCK and the IUML who have two MLAs each.
Barely days after losing control of its legislature party in the West Bengal assembly, the Trinamool Congress is now staring at an even bigger political nightmare -- the possibility of the rebellion spreading to its parliamentary ranks.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) faces a significant setback with the departure of seven MPs, including prominent figures, impacting its parliamentary strength and preparedness for upcoming elections. This exodus follows a turbulent period marked by the arrests of key leaders and raises questions about the party's future.
Veteran Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy has suggested that the rebellion within the Trinamool Congress (TMC)'s legislative wing could extend to its Members of Parliament, following an unprecedented revolt by MLAs and the party's recent electoral defeat in West Bengal.
'Mamata was more feared than loved, and in politics when people start fearing you then they start hating you.' 'So Mamata's comeback now is impossible.'
'Now if you break the party under the 10th Schedule you have to join another party.' 'You cannot join the NDA as it is not a party. You can only join another party, and that is the BJP.' 'So the question to ask is that these so-called 20 TMC Lok Sabha MPs who are parting ways with the TMC, are they ready to join the BJP and accept Narendra Modi as their leader?'
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is facing a severe leadership crisis as former minister Jyoti Priya Mallick resigned from all party organisational posts citing health, and senior North Bengal leader Goutam Deb stepped down as mayor of Siliguri Municipal Corporation, amidst widespread internal rifts and electoral setbacks.
Veteran politician and former railway minister Mukul Roy, a key figure in West Bengal politics, has died due to cardiac arrest, marking the end of a significant era.
Congress MP Kuldeep Bishnoi, son of former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal, and rebel Samajwadi Party MP Jaiprakash Rawat have been disqualified from the Lok Sabha under the anti-defection law.
Giving relief to expelled Samajwadi Party MPs Amar Singh and Jaya Prada, the Supreme Court directed that no action shall be taken against them under the Anti-Defection Law in the event of their defying a party whip.
The disqualified MLAs are Rajinder Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Devinder Kumar Bhutoo, Ravi Thakur and Chetanya Sharma.
A notification in this regard was issued on Thursday evening which further said that these six MLAs ceased to be members of Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly with effect from February 29.
Lalduhoma's political journey has been all about battling against odds.
Three of these MLAs are from Chhindwara, while another three from the region are set to leave for Delhi, sources close to the veteran leader said.
These Congress rebels, who had voted in favour of the BJP nominee in the Rajya Sabha polls, later abstained from voting on the Budget, defying a party whip.
'At the moment the anti-defection law works only in favour of Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena, the original Shiv Sena.' 'The Eknath Shinde camp is at a disadvantage unless they merge with another political party.' 'Otherwise, they will not be saved (from being disqualified).'
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has referred petitions submitted by the Trinamool Congress and the YSR Congress under the anti-defection law against their respective leaders Sisir Adhikari and K Raghu Rama Krishna Raju to the privileges committee.
The Act deals with automatic disqualification of MPs and state legislators upon being convicted and sentenced for two years or more in a criminal case.
Fissures surfaced among Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners ahead of the Jharkhand assembly elections as the Rashtriya Janata Dal on Saturday expressed disappointment over the announcement of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Congress contesting 70 of 81 seats in the state.
Notably, when asked by reporters if he would take legal recourse after Ajit Pawar took oath as deputy chief minister on Sunday, Sharad Pawar had said he would not get into all this but will go among people.
The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition challenging the appointment of Nitish Kumar as chief minister of Bihar after his party forged a new alliance in August, saying post-poll alignments subject to certain conditions is permissible under the anti-defection law.
The Congress has 40 MLAs while the BJP has 25 in the 68-member state assembly. The remaining three seats are held by independents.
'If you do not attend the meeting, it would be presumed that you have a clear intention of leaving the party'
The political crisis arose in Himachal Pradesh during the recently held polling for the Rajya Sabha elections as nine MLAs, including six Congress rebels and three independents, voted in favour of BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan.
Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Krishna Kumar Singh, who had joined the Samajwadi Party, was on Monday disqualified from the Uttar Pradesh assembly by the Speaker, the fourth party MLA to face action under the anti-defection law.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Thackeray faction, told the bench there is no constitutional protection for disqualification under the 10th schedule.
The deadline set by the Supreme Court for delivering the verdict was December 31, 2023, but some days before that, on December 15, the apex court gave a 10-day extension and set January 10 as the new date for a decision.
