Twenty Rebel TMC MPs Announce Merger With Nationalist Citizens Party to Back Modi's NDA

—Twenty rebel Trinamool Congress MPs announced they would merge with the newly formed Nationalist Citizens Party and align with the NDA coalition supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The breakaway, led by figures including Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, represents a significant blow to Mamata Banerjee's West Bengal-based party in the national parliament. The merger would give the NDA additional parliamentary leverage if it survives constitutional scrutiny. TMC is expected to challenge the move's legality under anti-defection rules, which may complicate or block the formal merger.