‘20th MP found?’ Sudip Bandyopadhyay’s BJP Delhi Darshan fuels fresh TMC defection buzz

A meeting between senior TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Union Minister Bhupender Yadav in New Delhi on Saturday has fueled fresh political speculation amid ongoing unrest within the party, as reported by PTI.

The meeting has spurred questions about whether the veteran parliamentarian may align with the dissident camp that is seeking recognition as a separate parliamentary group.

Those speculations intensified when Bandyopadhyay, after his meeting with Yadav, also allegedly met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital, sources told PTI.

Bandyopadhyay’s move drew strong reactions from TMC leaders in Kolkata who remain loyal to party chief Mamata Banerjee. It also prompted sarcastic comments from BJP leaders who had previously left the TMC after falling out with the party leadership, PTI reported.

Accompanied by rebel TMC MP Shatabdi Roy, Bandyopadhyay reached the Yadav’s Motilal Nehru Marg residence in the afternoon, where they held the meeting.

The development comes amid dissident Trinamool MPs stating they will meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday to seek recognition as the “real TMC”, following the party’s electoral drubbing in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls.

What happens if Bandyopadhyay switches sides?

Rebel MP Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia on Friday claimed that 19 of the party’s existing 28 Lok Sabha members were already backing the faction. If Bandyopadhyay switches sides, that number would go up to 20.

The rebel faction’s leader, Kakoli Ghosh Dasdidar, has stated that once the group gains official recognition, it will extend support to the BJP-led NDA in Parliament.

Political analysts see the meeting between Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Bhupender Yadav as significant, not only because of the stature of the two leaders involved but also due to the broader political developments surrounding the meeting.

A Lok Sabha MP from the prestigious Kolkata Uttar seat, Bandyopadhyay, remains one of the most senior parliamentarians in the TMC and has long been regarded as a key bridge between the party leadership and Delhi’s political establishment.

Any engagement between him and a senior BJP strategist is therefore likely to be closely scrutinised for signals regarding the future course of West Bengal politics, especially in terms of the political future of the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC in the state.

A group of 64 of the 80 MLAs of TMC has already broken away from the party in the state Assembly and has secured the recognition of Speaker Rathindra Bose, with the leader of the dissident faction, Ritabrata Banerjee, being named as the Leader of Opposition.

That recognition, however, has been challenged by the Mamata-led faction before the Calcutta High Court, which continues to hear the case.

Reacting to Bandyopadhyay’s move, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said it was on account of the Kolkata Uttar MP’s “lust for power and position” that the TMC lost several important leaders to the BJP.

“Able leaders like Tapas Roy and Sajal Ghosh left the party because of Sudip da’s personal insecurities and his lust for power and position within the party. I was suspended earlier from the party for speaking against him and in favour of senior leaders like Tapas da. Let the leadership realise now what kind of person they supported before,” Ghosh said.

While Roy has been named the industries minister in the newly-formed Suvendu Adhikari cabinet, Sajal Ghosh is an MLA from Baranagar in north Kolkata, where he defeated TMC’s high-profile candidate and actor Sayantika Banerjee in the Assembly polls.

“Earlier this week, when the CID raided the premises housing Mamata Banerjee’s residence, I received a call from Sudip da, asking where I was. When I told him I was already at Didi’s place, he said his wife, Nayna (a TMC MLA), would be reaching the spot soon. I waited, but she never came. Instead, Sudip da has now reached the BJP’s doorstep,” Ghosh said sarcastically.

Later, following a meeting of party leaders at the TMC office housed within former CM Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence, Ghosh questioned whether the ex-CM deserved this kind of treatment from the Kolkata Uttar MP on whom she “showered trust and respect”.

“The advantage that the BJP has with Sudip is that they get a buy-one-get-one-free offer. Alongside a leader who sports a wig, they will also get a mobile beauty parlour,” Ghosh said in apparent reference to Bandyopadhyay’s wife, Nayna, but without naming her.

Ghosh called Bandyopadhyay a “traitor” who “backstabbed” not only the party leadership, but also the “workers who worked for him during the 2024 parliamentary polls and the people who voted for him to fight the BJP”.

Here’s what Veteran TMC parliamentarian Saugata Roy said

Veteran TMC parliamentarian Saugata Roy said he was “deeply hurt” at Bandyopadhyay’s move.

“What can I do? I had spoken to Sudip Bandyopadhyay three or four days ago. He told me that he was not going anywhere. He said if he did anything, we would do it together. But then he went to the residence of Yadav, who is the in-charge of Operation Lotus (purported political moves to split the TMC) in West Bengal. The interpretation for this is anybody’s guess,” Roy said.

Party MP Kalyan Banerjee, who lashed out at Abhishek Banerjee only days ago and called him “arrogant”, sounded dismissive about Bandyopadhyay’s move.

“Let it be. Many people have left, Sudip da has left too. What’s the big deal? Nothing. But when these people contest elections, people will teach them a lesson. The opposition’s job is to speak on behalf of the country and point out the government’s wrongdoings. Right now, with Narendra Modi and Amit Shah at the Centre, and Suvendu Adhikari and others in West Bengal, their objective is to reduce the strength and space of the opposition,” Kalyan said.

BJP minister Tapas Roy called Bandyopadhyay and Shatabdi Roy a “liability” for the TMC.

“To save themselves, they have always aligned with those in power. They have contributed neither to the public nor to any political party. Mamata Banerjee is now realising who truly stands by her. For the sake of such individuals, many genuine political workers were insulted and sidelined. Whatever is happening is for the best and I am happy to see this unfold,” Roy told reporters.