Uncertainty prevailed over the fate of three Muslim MPs of Nationalist Citizen party of India (NCPI) as they met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday (August 6, 2026).
The Lok Sabha MPs from West Bengal’s Murshidabad district — Khalilur Rahaman from Jangipur, Yusuf Pathan from Baharampur and Abu Taher Khan from Murshidabad — had earlier this week said that they do not want to be part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) or the Bharatiya Janata Party.
They had skipped NDA meetings on the past two occasions in the past few days. During the meeting with the Union Home Minister, the three parliamentarians raised concerns over the SIR exercise in the Murshidabad district, which has seen a high number of deletions alleging that it has created anxiety among voters in Murshidabad. They also raised the issue of clampdown on use of loudspeakers in mosques.
“We raised two specific points: first, we requested that the appeals currently pending before the tribunal regarding citizenship (NRC-related) be heard as soon as possible and that arrangements be made to include the beneficiaries’ names in the voter list. Second, we requested that the use of loudspeakers at mosques, temples, or any other places of worship strictly adhere to the directives issued by the Supreme Court and High Courts,” Khalilur Rajman told media persons.
Asked whether there has been a change in their stance regarding NDA or the BJP, the Jangipur MP said that there is no change in their stance. Two other NCPI MPs, Shatabdi Roy and Asit Mal, were present with the Murshidabad MPs during the meeting with the Home Minister.
The MPs had decided to part ways from Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee with 17 others and decided to merge with a little-known political outfit NCPI.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called a meeting of MPs of NCPI and Shiv Sena on Friday (August 7, 2026) and the question remains whether the three Muslim MPs will join the meeting or not. The MPs elected from minority dominated Murshidabad district do not want to be seen to collude with the BJP as the electorate of the constituencies they represent may not like them rallying with the saffron party. This has posed a challenge for the entire NCPI switchover as speculations are rife that all the NCPI MPs want to merge with the BJP.
There are 28 MPs of Trinamool Congress of which eight have remained loyal to Mamata Banerjee so far. According to sources, the three MPs are also in touch with senior Trinamool Congress leader and MP Sougata Roy who is close to Mamata Banerjee.
Published - August 07, 2026 11:02 am IST
Bengal / Kolkata / Bharatiya Janata Party / All India Trinamool Congress
Source: The Hindu - India News
