National Citizens Party… You might have never heard this name before, but today this name is in the headlines. An unknown party, which did not perform well in the 2023 Tripura Assembly elections, has suddenly come to the center of national politics when 20 rebel MPs of Trinamool Congress announced their merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). Let us know about this party.
An unknown party, which lost the 2023 Tripura Assembly elections by just 822 votes, has suddenly become the center of Delhi politics. The Nationalist Citizens Party of India, which was granted the status of a registered but unrecognized political party by the Election Commission on January 20, 2023, has now emerged as a major player in the ongoing political crisis within the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Due to which attention has been drawn to the origin, leadership and internal functioning of the party. People want to know about this party.
Announcement of rebel TMC MPs
Nearly two-thirds of TMC in the Lok Sabha, i.e. 20 MPs, have announced the merger with this party registered in Bengal. The rebel MPs have met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and submitted a letter seeking recognition as a separate parliamentary group. TMC leader Sudip Bandopadhyay later confirmed that the rebel group has merged with NCPI. NCPI, which was known as a regional party, has now become an important player in national politics.
NCPI’s electoral debut from Tripura
NCPI was registered in West Bengal, but it contested its first elections from Tripura. NCPI started its election campaign from Tripura instead of Bengal. In the 2023 Tripura Assembly elections, the party tried to establish its presence in tribal dominated areas. According to party leader Shantanu Dey, the aim of NCPI was to raise the voice of the deprived tribal communities of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) region.
NCPI had planned to field candidates on 7 seats in the Tripura Assembly elections, but the nomination papers of 4 candidates were rejected. After this, only 2 candidates of the party could remain in the election field. The party did not get any major success in the election results. The NCPI candidate from Chawmanu seat got 536 votes, while the candidate from Kailashahar seat got 286 votes. The party got a total of 822 votes on both the seats. A third candidate, Krishna Kumar Debbarma, contested as an independent candidate from Ambassa and secured 376 votes. In this way the total votes supported by NCPI were 1198. But no candidate could come close to victory.
A total donation of Rs 1.13 lakh was received
According to Election Commission records, the party had received a total donation of only Rs 1.13 lakh. The treasurer of the party is Shewali Kundu. She is also the director of two organizations – Biswabazar Private Limited and West Bengal Unorganized Women Workers Association – registered at the same address in Banipur area of Howrah district. The party president is Uttiya Kundu, who is Shevli Kundu’s husband. In a Facebook post of Uttiya Kundu, he was seen with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. The party’s office is registered in Banipur area of Howrah district of West Bengal.
What did the candidates contesting on NCPI ticket say?
Candidates contesting on NCPI tickets in Tripura say that the party disappeared after the elections. Jahangir Ali, candidate from Kailashahar, said, ‘Shevali Kundu, who came from Kolkata, had contacted us to become a candidate during the 2023 elections. After the elections he stopped his work and went back. We also lost contact with them. Another former candidate, Barjeda Tripura, said, ‘After being introduced to party founder Shantanu De through a local, I contested the elections on his ticket. He did not ask for any money from me and the publicity was also minimal. They were mainly looking for candidates to contest the elections. After the elections, I completely lost contact with him.
Internal dispute in NCPI
According to Shantanu De, the party had initially planned to contest the Bengal Panchayat elections in 2023, but could not contest due to lack of resources. After the Tripura elections, there were internal disputes regarding finances and the organization came to a standstill. Dey said he later urged the party leadership to prepare for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, but the proposal could not go ahead due to lack of resources.
NCPI in headlines
NCPI has now become a topic of discussion in the country’s politics. NCPI’s political stature has suddenly increased after the merger of 20 Trinamool Congress MPs into this party. After the announcement of separation from Trinamool, rebel MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and demanded arrangement for separate sitting. After this meeting, rebel MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said that the rebel group has submitted a letter for recognition as a separate group. Trinamool leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay also confirmed that the rebel group has merged with NCPI and described it as a regional political party. This merger has brought NCPI into the limelight at the national level.
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