We are the largest parliamentary force from West Bengal: NCPI in a social media post

Most political parties spend decades building a voter base before becoming a political force worth noting. The Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a nondescript party, 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. 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 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 entered the 2024 Lok Sabha election as India's fourth-largest opposition party with 28 MPs, would see its strength shrink dramatically to just nine.

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.

Equally interesting is the story of the Kundu couple — Uttiya and Shewly — who steered the party founded by someone else, and allegedly "unilaterally decided on the merger".

NCPI GOT A TOTAL 822 VOTES FROM 2 SEATS IN TRIPURA ELECTION

The NCPI's sudden rise in national politics stands in stark contrast to its limited electoral record. The party was registered by the Election Commission of India (ECI) as a Registered Unrecognised Political Party (RUPP) on January 20, 2023, but has contested only one election since its formation.

Despite being registered in West Bengal , the NCPI chose to make its electoral debut in the 2023 Tripura Assembly elections , a decision that yielded little success and virtually no electoral footprint for the outfit.

The party's first electoral battle was largely unsuccessful. Though the NCPI fielded candidates in seven constituencies, the nomination papers of four candidates were rejected, leaving only two candidates in the fray under the party symbol. In Tripura's Chawmanu assembly constituency, the NCPI secured 536 votes, while in Kailashahar assembly fray, it managed just 286 votes.

Combined, the two candidates received only 822 votes, making the NCPI one of the smallest electoral players in the state election.

A third candidate associated with the broader NCPI network, Krishna Kumar Debbarma, contested from the Ambassa constituency as an Independent and polled 376 votes. Even after including his tally, the wider NCPI-backed effort garnered only 1,198 votes.

The results underscored the party's negligible electoral relevance. It failed to win a single seat and did not emerge as a significant contender in any constituency.

The NCPI's financial profile is also equally modest. Election Commission records show that the party reported total donations of only around Rs 1.13 lakh.

Unlike major political outfits that maintain expansive organisational networks, district units, and large membership bases, the NCPI operates with limited resources and little public visibility. Till the rebel TMC MPs decided to merge with the NCPI, the party remained largely unknown outside a few political circles in West Bengal and Tripura.

HUSBAND, WIFE LEADING TMC MERGER, NCPI FOUNDER KEPT IN THE DARK

At the centre of NCPI's operations and the merger with TMC's rebellion, MPs are Uttiya Kundu and Shewly Kundu. Party records and filings place the couple at the centre of the organisation's functioning.

Uttiya Kundu serves as the party president and is associated with the Bengali publication Jago Biswa, where he has described himself as a publisher, editor, mathematician, social worker, and motivational speaker.

His wife, Shewly Kundu, serves as the party treasurer and has also been listed as a director in organisations operating from the same address as the political party, including Biswabazar Private Limited and Paschim Banga Asangathita Mahila Karmi Association.

Uttiya Kundu had posted an image of him with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari after the newly sworn-in CM took oath in May.

"The days of dreaming are over. Now it is time to fulfil the dreams. As the Chief Minister of West Bengal, may Suvendu Adhikari's journey of victory be successful," Uttiya wrote on Facebook in the Bangla language.

"May your (Suvendu Adhik…