Fifteen of Trinamool’s 28 Lok Sabha members on Monday purportedly wrote to Speaker Om Birla pledging allegiance to the NDA and another 5 were expected to follow, marking a rerun of the rebellion by the party’s MLAs in Bengal.

The parliamentary mutiny was spearheaded by Barasat MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and joined by Ghatal MP and Tollywood megastar Dev Adhikari and veteran actor Satabdi Roy, among others.

Around the time Mamata Banerjee was at the Constitution Club trying to chart a pan-India fight against the BJP, the rebels were seeking to undercut her national footprint at the official residence of Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav a few kilometres away.

Some 15 Trinamool Lok Sabha members were at Bhupender’s home, where Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari too was present, sources said.

So was Trinamool veteran Sukhendu Shekhar Ray, who resigned from the Rajya Sabha on Monday while firing a salvo at the party, they added.

BJP sources said 15 Trinamool MPs had signed the letter to be sent to Birla seeking recognition as a separate group in the House, and more were on the way to Delhi to put their signatures.

“Nearly 20 TMC MPs, including me, have decided to extend support to the BJP-led NDA,” Kakoli told reporters.

But Bardhaman-Durgapur MP Kirti Azad disputed the rebels’ claims, asserting that only 13 MPs had signed the letter. At least 19 of the 28 MPs need to break away together to escape the anti-defection law.

In the evening, the rebel faction and Suvendu gathered for a “tea party” at the Delhi residence of Birbhum MP Satabdi.

A BJP leader said: “The rebel Trinamool leaders have assured us that they enjoy the support of around 22 MPs. Once all the signatures are obtained, the letter will be submitted to the Lok Sabha Speaker.”

Birla was out of Delhi and was expected to return later in the evening or on Tuesday. The rebel bloc expects to submit the letter on Tuesday.

“After this, we will take this to the Election Commission to seize the party’s symbol and accounts. The commission will rule in our favour. Even if this goes to the Supreme Court, our case is bullet-proof,” a key rebel leader told The Telegraph.

“Sooner or later, this will give us control of an estimated ₹1,250-1,400 crore in legitimate party funds, locked away in accounts controlled by Pishi-Bhaipo.”

Sources said the Trinamool MPs arrived at Yadav’s residence in small groups and individually, entering through a separate gate to avoid media attention.

The first batch arrived shortly after Ray resigned from the Upper House, accusing the Trinamool establishment of “unbridled corruption” and “criminal highhandedness”.

At the meeting, Ray apparently facilitated the efforts to formalise the split. BJP sources indicated that he could be rewarded later.

They said that efforts to engineer a split in Trinamool’s Rajya Sabha contingent of 13 MPs might begin after the exercise in the Lok Sabha is completed.

“We already have five of them pledging support to the cause. Of course, one of them, Ray, has already resigned; and a first-time MP will resign this week. There are two fence-sitters, whom we will get,” a rebel bloc leader in Calcutta said.

Kirti, Mahua hit back

Azad shared on X a letter issued by Mamata removing Kakoli as the Trinamool chief whip in the Lok Sabha and appointing Sreerampur MP Kalyan Banerjee in her place.

“The question is how long the BJP will continue to hoodwink the people?” he wrote on X.

In a post on X, Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra thundered: “MPs won in 2024 on TMC ticket. Mandate was NOT for NDA. All the greedy self-serving traitors with yellow-stained pants can please join BJP now — resign your seats & contest on BJP ticket. Let’s see what big heroes you are.”

One key motive behind the BJP facilitating the split is to bolster the NDA’s numbers in the Lok Sabha ahead of key legislative battles.

The Narendra Modi government is preparing to introduce a fresh delimitation bill that proposes a substantial increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats, and is expected to redraw the constituencies in a manner favouring the BJP.

The government had been forced to withdraw an earlier version of the legislation in April after a united Opposition, including Trinamool, defeated a constitutional amendment linked to the proposal.