Bad precedent: Nationalist Citizens Party leader opposes merger with TMC rebels

NCPI National Organising Secretary Shantanu Dey said he does not support accommodating dissident TMC MPs after their reported merger with the party. He said the move set a bad precedent and contrasted it with NCPI's rights-based founding principles.

In Short

• NCPI founding Shantanu Dey opposes accomodating TMC rebels in party
• Rebel leaders approached NCPI, but gave no clear response to queries
• NCPI was conceived in 2022 and registered formally the following year

Amid the political storm triggered by the merger of dissident Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), the party's National Organising Secretary Shantanu Dey has expressed reservations about the development, saying he does not believe the rebel leaders should be accommodated in the party.

Speaking in an exclusive phone interview with India Today TV, Dey said he had been hearing reports of the merger since Sunday morning but felt the move set a poor example in politics.

"I feel it is not right to take them into the party. They have done wrong to the common people. This creates a bad precedent," Dey said.

THE ELECTORAL HISTORY OF THE NATIONALIST CITIZEN'S PARTY OF INDIA

According to him, the NCPI was conceived in July 2022 and formally registered in 2023 under the leadership of Shewli Kundu and Uttiya Kundu with Dey as one of the prime founding members. Dey, who serves as the party's National Organising Secretary, said the party contested the 2023 Tripura Assembly elections. While seven candidates were initially fielded, only three eventually contested after several nominations were cancelled.

Dey claimed that members of the rebel TMC camp had approached NCPI leaders directly. He said either Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar or Ritabrata Banerjee had contacted Shewli Kundu and Uttiya Kundu regarding the merger proposal. However, he added that those involved did not respond when he sought clarification.

"Now that Mamata Banerjee has removed them from party positions, I only know that they want to be affiliated with us," he said.

The NCPI leader stressed that his party was founded around issues of human rights and social justice. He explained that the party's election symbol — an ink pen nib accompanied by seven strokes — represents the seven fundamental rights guaranteed to citizens.

"We are largely people from NGO backgrounds. Our work has always centred on human rights and ensuring that basic rights reach everyone," he said.

MOST OF THE PARTY MEMBERS HAVE AN RSS BACKGROUND

Dey also revealed that many NCPI members had backgrounds in social organisations and activism. While acknowledging that he had been associated with the RSS from childhood and had received support from BJP workers during the 2023 Tripura elections, he maintained that NCPI was not affiliated with any political party and functioned independently.

The party currently has a limited organisational presence in West Bengal, with some members and an office in Howrah, but has not contested any election in the state so far.

- Ends