TMC turmoil deepens: 20 MPs send letter to Lok Sabha Speaker 'wanting to ally with NDA'

NEW DELHI: At least 20 TMC MPs have submitted a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla expressing their desire to ally with the BJP-led NDA, news agency PTI reported citing party lawmaker Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar on Monday. This came after Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Shekhar Ray's resignation from the party and the Upper House, which was accepted by the chairman."Nearly 20 TMC MPs, including me, have written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla about our decision to support the NDA," she said. "We accepted poll verdict in Bengal, believe our future political course should be aligned with NDA," she added.The crisis within the party intensified, as signs of rebellion that first emerged after the assembly elections reached its parliamentary wing, even as TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee was in Delhi to attent INDIA bloc meet.Rebel leader Ritabrata Banerjee said that Ray's resignation was a sign of widening dissent against the official leadership."Ray is a senior leader, and his resignation marks the unity of will among us and a significant section of party leaders who are outside the state assembly. Kolkata's distance from Delhi is barely 1,435 km, and the number of disillusioned TMC parliamentarians is very likely to go up. That development can happen with each passing hour from now," PTI quoted Ritabrata saying."I sat in the last bench in the Parliament for 15 months and witnessed junior leaders and RTI activists being awarded front seats. Parliamentary performance was never the yardstick of judgement. I felt terrible for Sukhenduda, who also allotted the last bench," he added.The development comes against the backdrop of a deepening crisis within the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, marked by growing dissent and a string of high-profile resignations.