TMC, Sena UBT & The Rise Of Rebels: Speaker To Seal The Fate Of Mamata, Uddhav Before Monsoon Session

Last Updated:July 05, 2026, 17:06 IST

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is expected to deliver a ruling on disqualification and merger disputes involving rebel MPs from TMC and Shiv Sena (UBT) before monsoon session (July 20)

Before the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament begins on July 20, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is expected to deliver a definitive ruling on the disqualification and merger disputes involving rebel MPs from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).

What are the issues? News18 explains.

TMC, SENA UBT AND THE REBEL FACTIONS

Twenty MPs have broken away from the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC and joined the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a registered unrecognised political party headquartered in West Bengal’s Howrah, and sought separate seating arrangements in the Lok Sabha. The rebels have also expressed their allegiance to the Narendra Modi government and voiced their desire to join the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Altogether, 29 MPs were elected to the Lok Sabha on TMC tickets in the 2024 general election. One TMC MP passed away sometime ago and the seat remains vacant.

In case of the Shiv Sena (UBT), nine MPs were elected, of whom six have since joined the rival Shiv Sena faction headed by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Both the TMC and the Shiv Sena (UBT) have argued before the Speaker that their rebel MPs should be disqualified as the defections fall under the anti-defection provisions of the Tenth Schedule. The two parties contend that protection from disqualification is available only in the event of a valid merger and not merely because a group of legislators has broken away.

THE SPEAKER WILL LOOK AT

The critical outcomes and decisions currently under consideration by the Speaker’s office include:

1. Merger Validation vs. Disqualification

The TMC Dispute: The Speaker will rule on the request of 20 rebel TMC MPs who are seeking to merge with the NCPI and join the ruling NDA. The parent TMC, led by Abhishek Banerjee, has filed 20 separate petitions demanding their immediate disqualification under the Anti-Defection Law (Tenth Schedule), arguing that individual legislators cannot claim the protection of a merger on their own.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) Dispute: The Speaker will decide the fate of six rebel Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs who have crossed over to join the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction. The Uddhav Thackeray faction (UBT) is similarly pushing for their disqualification, arguing that a legislative splinter group cannot bypass the parent party organisation.

2. Legal Interpretation of the Two-Thirds Rule

The ultimate decision hinges on how the Speaker interprets the constitutional threshold for a valid merger. The parent parties maintain that a split is only protected from disqualification if two-thirds of the entire political party organisation merges, not just a two-thirds majority within the legislative wing of the house.

3. New Seating Arrangements in the House

Separate from the disqualification verdict, the Lok Sabha Secretariat is actively reviewing revised seating layouts for the Monsoon Session. This decision will dictate where the rebel TMC and Shinde faction MPs will sit. Additionally, a decision will be finalised regarding the DMK’s request for separate seating away from the Congress party following their recent political realignment.

WHAT BIRLA SAID ON SATURDAY

Birla on Saturday said it is up to the political parties to discuss and decide on whether to amend the anti-defection law.

Birla was responding to a question on a committee of presiding officers set up by him for reviewing the constitutional and procedural framework governing the disqualification of legislators under the anti-defection law.

It is up to the political parties to discuss and decide on the anti-defection law, the Lok Sabha speaker told reporters.

With PTI Inputs

About the Author

Manjiri Joshi

At the news desk for 20 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing speci...Read More

News explainers TMC, Sena UBT & The Rise Of Rebels: Speaker To Seal The Fate Of Mamata, Uddhav Before Monsoon Session

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