The Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a nondescript party, based with offices in Howrah region in West Bengal has been thrown into the limelight and the national power equation almost overnight.
The NCPI is a party that could only secure a total of 822 votes in its sole electoral contest and raised just Rs 1.13 lakh in donations.
The NCPI is currently led by husband-wife duo Uttiya Kundu (right) and Shewly Kundu (centre), who serve as the party's president and treasurer, respectively.
But now its fortunes seem to have changed overnight.
Steered by a husband-and-wife duo from West Bengal, it could become the fifth-largest party in the Lok Sabha and second-largest in the ruling NDA government if the Speaker approves of the merger of nearly 20 rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs with NCPI.
The NCPI, registered with the Election Commission of India (ECI) in January 2023, is emerging as the biggest beneficiary of the rebellion within the TMC. With nearly 20 TMC MPs announcing their decision to merge with the party, the NCPI will become the fifth-largest party in the Lok Sabha.
If the merger is approved, the NCPI's strength would rise to 20 MPs from zero. It will become the fifth-biggest party in the Lok Sabha after the BJP (240 MPs), the Congress (99 MPs), the Samajwadi Party (37 MPs), and the DMK (22 MPs).
The TMC, which was the fourth-largest opposition party with 28 MPs in the Lok Sabha, would see its strength shrink dramatically to just eight.
A party with no electoral base suddenly becoming a major parliamentary force will be India's most unusual political story.
"It takes a lot of hard work and investment to win a Lok Sabha seat. Getting to be a party with 20 MPs overnight is nothing short of a political miracle, which is the result of manoeuvring in which it most likely has had a minimal role," says an article in 'India Today'.
The NCPI was registered with the Election Commission as a Registered Unrecognised Political Party (RUPP) on January 20, 2023, just weeks before the Tripura assembly elections. Despite being registered in Bengal, the party chose to make its electoral debut in Tripura.
According to Election Commission records, the party received total donations of just Rs 1.13 lakh.
Party documents list Shewly Kundu as the treasurer. She is also a director in two organisations registered at the same address as the political party:
Biswabazar Private Limited (director since November 2021) and Paschim Banga Asangathita Mahila Karmi Association (director since October 2020), an organisation involved in social work activities. The registered address of all three entities is located in Banipur area of Howrah district in Bengal. The party's president is Uttiya Kundu, husband of Shewly Kundu. In one Facebook post, Uttiya Kundu shared a picture with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
Tripura Debut, Poor Electoral Performance
NCPI leader Shantanu Dey told NDTV the party entered Tripura politics with the stated aim of representing deprived tribal communities in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) region.
It fielded candidates in seven constituencies. However, nomination papers of candidates in four seats were rejected. Eventually, NCPI candidates contested in only two constituencies under the party symbol.
The results were as follows: Chawmanu (536 votes),
and Kailashahar (286 votes). Together, it got just 822 votes.
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