National Citizen's Party of India

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Nationalist Citizens Party of India
AbbreviationNCPI
PresidentKakoli Ghosh Dastidar
Lok Sabha LeaderKakoli Ghosh Dastidar
FounderShewly Kundu
Founded14 October 2022 (2022-10-14)
HeadquartersSankrail, Howrah, West Bengal
IdeologyLiberalism (Indian)
Bengali nationalism
Regionalism
Secularism
Political positionCentre
Colours  Light Lime
ECI StatusRegistered-Unrecognised
AllianceNational Democratic Alliance (2026–present)
Seats in Rajya Sabha
0 / 245
Seats in Lok Sabha
20 / 543
Seats in West Bengal Legislative Assembly
0 / 294
Election symbol
Indian_Election_Symbol_Pen_Nib_with_Seven_Rays
Party flag

The Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) is a political party that is active in the eastern region of India, including West Bengal, Tripura, and Assam.[1][2] The NCPI is a registered unrecognised party that has participated in state assembly elections, with a focus on representing the Bengali-speaking communities.[3] In June 2026, after the merger of 20 All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) Member's of Parliament (MP)s, it has become the fifth largest political party in Lok Sabha, the lower house of India's parliament, and the second largest ally of the ruling coalition at the centre, Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).[4][5][6]

Foundation and history

Seven principles of NCPI

The Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) was founded in 2022,[7] while according to ECI the party was registered on 20 January 2023, with Shewly Kundu as its president and chairperson and Saikat Das as its general secretary.[8][6][2] Their headquarters is located in Howrah, West Bengal.

The NCPI contested the 2023 Tripura Legislative Assembly election on the Pen Nib with Seven Rays symbol, fielding candidates in four constituencies — Chawamanu, Ambassa, Karamchara and Kailashahar. The party performed poorly in all four seats, with its candidates either polling fewer votes than the NOTA option or only margin.[8][9][10]

In June 2026, 20 MPs including Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar from the AITC merged with the NCPI.[1]

AITC (Rebel Bloc) merger

Following the defeat in the 2026 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election and growing internal unrest, more than two-thirds of the AITC's parliamentary strength (20 out of 28 MPs) rebelled against the leadership of Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee. After a rebellion in the All India Trinamool Congress, 20 members of parliament joined the NCPI.[11][12] The merger was due to the complications that the rebel group would face if they formed an independent bloc under the AITC label.[13][14]

According to political analysts, the rebel MPs' decision to merge with a registered regional political party rather than form a separate bloc within AITC was intended to avoid legal complications under anti-defection law, as it states that "When two-thirds of the legislators of a political party decide to merge with another party, neither those who join the new party nor the ones who stay with the original party face disqualification."[3][11][15][16]

Leadership

Party leadership

List of Party Presidents
# Name Term in office
Assumed office Left office Time in office Ref.
1 Shewly Kundu 14 October 2022 28 May 2026 3 years, 226 days [17][18][19]
2 Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar 14 June 2026 Incumbent 18 days

Legislative leadership

List of Lok Sabha MP's

This is a list of members of the 18th Lok Sabha arranged by the states and union territories they are elected from. These MPs were elected in the 2024 Indian general election held in April–June 2024.

Keys:

Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (India)
# Constituency Portrait Name Popular Vote Margin
1 Cooch Behar (SC) Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia 7,88,375 39,250
2 Jangipur Khalilur Rahaman 5,44,427 1,16,637
3 Baharampur Yusuf Pathan 5,24,516 85,022
4 Murshidabad Abu Taher Khan 6,82,442 1,64,215
5 Barrackpore Partha Bhowmick 5,20,231 64,438
6 Barasat Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar 6,92,010 1,14,189
7 Mathurapur (SC) Bapi Halder 7,55,731 2,01,057
8 Jadavpur Saayoni Ghosh 7,17,899 2,58,201
9 Kolkata Dakshin Mala Roy 6,15,274 1,87,231
10 Kolkata Uttar Sudip Bandyopadhyay 4,54,696 92,560
11 Howrah Prasun Banerjee 6,26,493 1,69,442
12 Hooghly Rachana Banerjee 7,02,744 76,853
13 Arambagh (SC) Mitali Bag 7,12,587 6,399
14 Ghatal Deepak Adhikari 8,37,990 1,82,868
15 Jhargram (ST) Kalipada Soren 7,43,478 1,74,048
16 Medinipur June Malia 7,02,192 27,191
17 Bankura Arup Chakraborty 6,41,813 32,778
18 Bardhaman Purba (SC) Sharmila Sarkar 7,20,302 1,60,572
19 Bolpur (SC) Asit Kumar Mal 8,55,633 3,27,253
20 Birbhum Satabdi Roy 7,17,961 1,97,650

Electoral performance

Tripura Legislative Assembly elections[21]
Year Assembly Party leader Seats contested Seats won Change in seats (%) of votes Vote swing Popular vote Outcome
2023 13th Shewly Kundu 2
0 / 60
 Steady new 0.03 Steady new 822 Lost

See also

References

  1. "Rebel TMC MPs to merge with Nationalist Citizens Party, to back NDA". India Today. 14 June 2026.
  2. "Theatre of absurd: Kapil Sibal slams rebel MPs' move to merge with NCPI and back NDA". India Today. 14 June 2026. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  3. "22 rebel Trinamool Lok Sabha MPs seek to merge with Nationalist Citizen Party of India". The Hindu. 14 June 2026.
  4. "Meet NCPI: The little-known party at centre of TMC rebellion could become NDA's second-largest ally". The Times of India. 15 June 2026.
  5. "How Kundu couple could turn nondescript NCPI into 5th-biggest party in Lok Sabha". India Today. 15 June 2026.
  6. "All About Nationalist Citizens Party, New Home Of 20 Rebel Trinamool MPs". NDTV. 15 June 2026.
  7. "E-Paper 13 Oct 2022". Millennium Post. 13 October 2022.
  8. "Nationalist Citizens Party of India". Election Commission of India. 5 December 2022.
  9. "EXPENDITURE REPORT SUBMITTED BY Registered Unrecognized Political Party (RUPP) having headquarter in West Bengal 2023-2024". ceowestbengal.wb.gov.in. Archived from the original on 21 November 2025. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  10. "Nationalist Citizens Party of India, TMC rebels and the death of irony". India Today. Living Media India Limited. 15 June 2026. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  11. "Rebel TMC MPs to join Tripura-based Nationalist Citizen Party of India, to support NDA". Hindustan Times. HT Digital Streams Ltd. 9 June 2026. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  12. "TMC Rebel MPs: পশ্চিমবঙ্গে এবার নতুন রাজনৈতিক দল, তৃণমূলের বিদ্রোহীরা যোগ দিচ্ছেন NCPI-তে, NDA-র বন্ধু". ABP Ananda (in Bengali). ABP Network. 14 June 2026. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  13. "Rebel TMC MPs Announce Merger With Little-Known 'Nationalist Citizen Party of India' in Bid to Avoid Legal Hurdle". The Wire. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  14. "NCPI opens doors to rebel TMC MPs, signals support for NDA". The Times of India. 15 June 2026. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  15. Rehman, Asad; Deb, Debraj (15 June 2026). "Why Trinamool's rebel MPs merged with NCPI, a little-known party". The Indian Express. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  16. "TMC rebels plan merger with little-known Nationalist Citizens Party that secured just 822 votes in 2023 Tripura polls". Deccan Herald. 15 June 2026. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  17. "Meet Nationalist Citizens Party chief: Inside outfit that has shaken up Bengal and national politics". India TV News. 15 June 2026. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  18. "As TMC rebels flock to NCPI, even its founder cannot name the president". @mathrubhumi. 15 June 2026. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  19. "Obscure 'Nationalist Citizens Party of India' Divided Over Merger With Rebel TMC MPs". The Wire. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  20. and /news/india/all-rebel-tmc-mps-likely-to-merge-with-nationalist-citizen-party-sources-latest-updates-2026-06-14-1044822 "All rebel TMC MPs to merge with Nationalist Citizens Party, extend support to NDA". India TV. Retrieved 14 June 2026. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  21. "2023 Tripura assembly elections - Results". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 1 February 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.