Agartala, June 15 (IANS) The Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a little-known political outfit registered in West Bengal’s Howrah district, has suddenly emerged at the centre of political discussions following reports that around 20 dissident Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs joined the party.

Founded by lawyer Shewly Kundu, the NCPI had made limited organisational inroads in Tripura and Northeast India in the past few years, though it remained largely on the fringes of mainstream politics. Party sources said that Shewly Kundu’s husband, Uttiyo Kundu, serves as a Vice-President of the NCPI. Both leaders are residents of West Bengal.

According to records of the Election Commission of India (ECI), the NCPI is listed as a “registered (unrecognised) political party” and has been allotted the election symbol “pen nib with seven rays”. The party had contested the 2023 Tripura Assembly elections on a limited scale.

Jahangir Ali, 54, contested from the Kailashahar Assembly constituency in Unakoti district, while Barjeda Tripura, 65, was fielded from the tribal-reserved Chawmanu constituency in Dhalai district. In addition, two Independent candidates contested with the party’s support.

However, the party failed to make any electoral impact. Its two official candidates secured a combined total of only 822 votes, accounting for just 0.03 per cent of the valid votes polled in the two constituencies. Barjeda Tripura secured only 536 votes in Chawmanu, while Jahangir Ali received 286 votes in Kailashahar. Both candidates forfeited their security deposits.

Despite its negligible electoral presence, the NCPI has now become the subject of intense political discussion in Tripura following reports that 20 rebel TMC Lok Sabha members from Bengal have announced their decision to join the party.

In Tripura, the party’s organisational expansion was largely driven by a section of former TMC leaders and workers, including Jahangir Ali and Dilwar Hossain Khan Zakir. Ali was previously associated with the CPI (M) before joining the Trinamool following the political change of guard in Tripura in 2018. He later served as a block-level President of the TMC until 2023.

Zakir, on the other hand, was the President of the Unakoti District Youth Trinamool Congress until 2023. According to party sources, differences began surfacing within the Trinamool in Tripura ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections after senior TMC leader and former Rajya Sabha member Sushmita Dev was entrusted with organisational responsibilities in the state.

Disagreements over candidate selection and organisational decisions reportedly led to divisions within the party’s state unit. Several leaders and workers, including Ali and Zakir, subsequently left the TMC and joined the NCPI at the invitation of party founder Shewly Kundu.

Thereafter, party representatives from West Bengal held a series of meetings across Tripura to strengthen the NCPI’s organisational base in the state. Zakir was later appointed as the party’s State Convener in Tripura.

As part of its electoral strategy for the 2023 Assembly elections, the NCPI initially planned to field candidates in five of Tripura’s 60 Assembly constituencies. However, the nomination papers of three candidates were rejected due to technical discrepancies during scrutiny. Eventually, Jahangir Ali contested from Kailashahar, while another party candidate entered the fray from Chawmanu.

Although the NCPI failed to make any noticeable political or electoral impact in Tripura, reports of 20 TMC MPs joining the party have generated considerable interest and discussion in political circles across the Northeastern state.

Since the 2023 Tripura Assembly elections, the NCPI has remained largely inactive in both Tripura and West Bengal.

Reacting to the renewed attention surrounding the party, Tripura State Convener Dilwar Hossain Khan Zakir and former NCPI candidate Jahangir Ali separately told IANS that the growing national discussion around the party has injected fresh momentum into efforts to build an alternative political platform outside the Trinamool.

They also expressed optimism about expanding and strengthening the party’s organisational network in Tripura over the coming months.

Political observers believe that the future significance of the NCPI will largely depend on the political trajectory and performance of the dissident TMC MPs. According to analysts, the coming months will determine whether the party remains a subject of temporary political curiosity or evolves into a more substantial force in national politics.

“We are very happy that the 20 TMC MPs have joined the NCPI. Their entry will help expand the party further in Tripura, West Bengal and other parts of the country,” Zakir told IANS.

–IANS

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