Seventeen of the 20 Lok Sabha members who joined the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) in June are expected to switch to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before Durga Puja in October, one of the MPs who moved to the party said on Monday. Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, who was among the lawmakers who left the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and joined the NCPI earlier this year, said the group had decided to move again. His statement comes only months after the MPs joined the NCPI following the TMC’s defeat in West Bengal. The proposed move could further reshape the political alignment of the lawmakers and intensify speculation over their future in the state’s political landscape.

Basunia said 17 MPs were preparing to join the BJP ahead of Durga Puja, which is celebrated widely across West Bengal in October. The proposed switch involves the majority of the 20 lawmakers who had moved to the NCPI in June. The development is significant because the NCPI had emerged as the platform chosen by the MPs after they broke away from the TMC. Basunia’s remarks indicate that the arrangement may now be short-lived, with most of the group preparing to align themselves with the BJP instead. The lawmaker did not indicate that all 20 MPs would make the switch, leaving open the question of what the remaining members would decide.

The NCPI itself has remained relatively unfamiliar to the wider public, and Basunia acknowledged that the MPs themselves had known little about the organisation before joining it in June. His admission offers an unusual insight into the circumstances surrounding the lawmakers’ earlier decision to move to the party. The MPs had left the TMC after the party lost power in West Bengal and subsequently joined the NCPI. Their decision at the time had attracted attention because of the relatively low profile of the party and the number of lawmakers associated with the move. Basunia’s latest comments now place the focus on another political transition involving the same group of MPs.

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The proposed shift to the BJP comes at a politically significant time in West Bengal, where the BJP has emerged as a major challenger to the TMC. The state has witnessed repeated political realignments involving leaders and elected representatives, with defections often becoming a key feature of competition between the two parties. If 17 MPs formally join the BJP before Durga Puja, the move could strengthen the party’s parliamentary presence and provide another boost to its political organisation in the state. However, the exact timing and formal process of the proposed switch remain to be seen. Basunia’s statement establishes the stated intention of the group but does not by itself constitute a completed political transition.

The development also raises questions about the future of the NCPI after the group’s proposed departure. The party became a political vehicle for the lawmakers only in June, but the possibility of most of them leaving within a few months could significantly affect its standing. Basunia’s admission that the MPs knew little about the NCPI before joining it is likely to attract further attention, particularly because the lawmakers’ earlier move had been presented as a political realignment. Their proposed transition to the BJP would represent another change in allegiance in a relatively short period and could prompt scrutiny over the reasons behind the successive decisions.

For the BJP, the potential addition of 17 Lok Sabha members would be politically significant, while for the MPs it would mark another shift since their departure from the TMC. The proposed move is expected before Durga Puja in October, according to Basunia, but the formal joining of the BJP would be necessary for the transition to be completed. Until then, the lawmakers remain associated with the NCPI based on their June move. The episode has highlighted the fluidity of political alliances in West Bengal and the rapid changes that can occur among elected representatives following a major electoral setback. Basunia’s statement has now put the spotlight on whether the proposed switch will take place as announced and what it could mean for the political balance in the state.

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