Mahua Moitra slams rebel TMC MPs backing NDA, targets Yusuf Pathan as party faces major internal turmoil. Photos: ANI
Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra on Monday launched a scathing attack on a group of rebel lawmakers who have reportedly decided to back the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The firebrand MP also took aim at former Indian cricketer and Behrampur MP Yusuf Pathan. Moitra accused the MPs of betraying the mandate on which they were elected and challenged them to resign from Parliament and seek a fresh mandate from voters under a BJP banner. The controversy comes after a section of TMC Lok Sabha MPs, led by chief whip Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, reportedly decided to write to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla formally expressing support for the NDA.
Taking to social media, Moitra argued that the MPs were elected on Trinamool Congress tickets and therefore had no authority to align themselves with the NDA.
“MPs won in 2024 on the 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,” she wrote.
Moitra also criticised TMC MP Yusuf Pathan amid reports that he was heading to Delhi.
“And Yusuf Pathan, you are rushing to Delhi because @AmitShah has called you? Have some courage. You played for India. Our district voted you in with a huge margin. Have some shame & some spine,” she said.
However, it remained unclear whether Pathan was part of the rebel camp.
And @iamyusufpathan you are rushing to Delhi because @AmitShah has called you? Have some courage. You played for India. Our district voted you in with a huge margin. Have some shame & some spine.
— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) June 8, 2026
Earlier reports had suggested that former India captain Sourav Ganguly had acted as an intermediary for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, asking Pathan to resign from the Lok Sabha so that she could enter the House through a by-election. Ganguly has denied playing any such role.
The developments came as the dissident MPs moved to formalise their support for the NDA without immediately resigning from the Trinamool Congress or joining the BJP.
Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said that nearly 20 TMC MPs had decided to write to Speaker Om Birla and officially extend support to the ruling alliance.
“We have accepted the people’s verdict and believe that our future political course should be aligned with the NDA,” she said.
According to reports, the rebel lawmakers are seeking to function as a separate parliamentary bloc while supporting the NDA from within Parliament. The Trinamool Congress currently has 28 MPs in the Lok Sabha, with one seat vacant following the death of Basirhat MP Haji Nurul Islam. If approximately 20 MPs support the breakaway initiative, the faction would cross the two-thirds threshold required to seek protection under the anti-defection law.
The Trinamool Congress leadership has strongly contested Dastidar’s assertions. Party leaders said Kalyan Banerjee had been appointed the TMC’s Lok Sabha chief whip on May 20 and maintained that Dastidar’s claim to the position “holds no value.”
The leadership also questioned whether the “so-called rebel group” had submitted any signed communication to the Speaker in support of its claims.
The dispute over the chief whip’s position follows Dastidar’s own complaint against Banerjee. In late May, she had written to the Speaker accusing him of “verbal abuse” and misogynistic behaviour.
Former cricketer and TMC MP Kirti Azad also entered the debate, publicly backing the Mamata Banerjee-led camp.
Writing on X, Azad said, “Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar’s removal and appointment of Kalyan Banerjee as the chief whip was already informed to the honourable speaker last month by our honourable chairperson Mamta Banerjee. The question is for how long the BJP will keep hoodwinking the people?”
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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