Three NCPI MPs skip NDA meet, refuse to join alliance or BJP

Three MPs of the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), who had previously been members of the Trinamool Congress, skipped a meeting of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Delhi on Tuesday (August 4, 2026), making it clear that they will not join the BJP or the BJP-led alliance.

This is the second time in the last few days that the three Lok Sabha MPs from Murshidabad district — Abu Taher Khan, Khalilur Rahaman, and Yusuf Pathan — have skipped an NDA meeting. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh were present at the meeting in Parliament that the MPs skipped.

“We have said that we will not be part of NDA and will never join the BJP,” Mr. Khan, the Murshidabad MP, told journalists at the Parliament complex. “We are the ones facing maximum problems relating to the development-related work of our constituencies. Under no circumstances will we join the NDA or BJP; be rest assured,” he said, with Mr. Rahman, the Jangipur MP, standing next to him as he spoke.

‘Coordination meeting’

While the three MPs did not participate in the NDA meeting, they joined a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Mr. Adhikari met 22 MPs, which included 19 NCPI MPs and three recently nominated BJP Rajya Sabha MPs Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Sushmita Dev, and Prakash Chik Baraik. The three Rajya Sabha MPs had resigned from the Trinamool Congress and were re-elected to the Upper House with the support of BJP legislators.

The West Bengal Chief Minister was also joined by Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey in what was described as a “coordination meeting” with the NCPI MPs.

Ideological differences

TMC loyalist and Dum Dum Lok Sabha MP Sougata Roy was the first to say that the MPs from Murshidabad were not inclined to join the BJP and be a part of the NDA. “Their ideologies or politics do not align naturally with the BJP or the NDA,” Mr. Roy had said.

After the defeat of the Trinamool Congress in the West Bengal Assembly election this summer, 20 of the 28 rebel Lok Sabha MPs merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) on June 14, aligning themselves with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). There is speculation that these MPs will officially join the BJP, a course of action that Mr. Khan, Mr. Rahaman, and Mr. Pathan have expressed disapproval about.

‘Desertion under pressure’

Former West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee reiterated that the MPs and MLAs who have deserted her party have done so under pressure from police and Central agencies.

“The MPs and MLAs are being threatened by the police, by the [Enforcement Directorate] ED, and the [Central Bureau of Investigation] CBI. The officers-in charge of police stations are going with vehicles and saying, either join the BJP or get arrested,” Ms. Banerjee alleged, in a livestream on social media.