The drama that is unfolding starring the parliamentary faction of rebels within the Trinamool Congress can only be described as a theatre of the absurd. The scene involving poaching for the requisite numbers is over — almost. The next act, which was completed on Sunday, witnessed the rebel camp submitting a letter to the Speaker of Parliament seeking to merge their faction with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India, an obscure outfit that is known to have fought a minuscule number of seats in gram panchayat elections in Howrah in 2023 and in the Tripura assembly elections. This orchestrated move was in response to a letter submitted to the Speaker by Abhishek Banerjee that stated categorically that the anti-defection law only allowed mergers. The sleight of hand on the part of the rebels was thus necessary. Their motive has to do with the perks of power. There is a buzz of ministerial rewards for two of the rebels in the parliamentary group. There is though the matter of longevity of their electoral careers. Their opportunism and the attendant theatrics are unlikely to win them public affection in future electoral contests. Moreover, it appears that these are also rebels without direction. The dissident leader, who engineered a split among the TMC’s MLAs, has been on record suggesting that the party’s dissident factions in Parliament and the Bengal assembly may not walk in the same direction. The door on drama is not shut yet.

The party pulling the strings from behind will be the principal beneficiary. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s dominance in the Bengal assembly has been made even more potent with its invisible hand in the implosion in its chief political adversary. The possibility of the BJP extending its numerical dominance in Parliament cannot be ruled out either as the number game may change in the two Houses as a result of these developments. The ingenuity of this endeavour is that the BJP managed to neuter the TMC without opening the party’s doors to the rebels. But ingenuity can also have repercussions. The hegemony that the BJP is pursuing by means fair and foul can be fatal for democracy. Neither the government nor opportunistic opponents seem to care about that.