<p>Kolkata: Senior <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/bjp">BJP</a> leader Saumitra Khan on Tuesday claimed that around 20 TMC MPs were in touch with the saffron camp and were ready to switch sides if the party leadership gave its approval, a charge swiftly dismissed by the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/tmc">TMC</a> as "bogus".</p>.<p>The claim assumes significance amid continuing political chatter over undercurrents within the TMC following its electoral setback in West Bengal and recent public signs of discontent by some leaders.</p>.<p>"Twenty TMC MPs are in touch with us. If the party leadership wants, they are ready to switch sides. If the BJP wants the entire TMC will wind up in the next few days," Khan, a three-term Lok Sabha MP, told reporters, without naming any MP.</p>.<p>The TMC currently has 29 MPs in the Lok Sabha out of 42 seats in West Bengal, whereas the BJP has 12 and the Congress has one.</p>.<p>Under the anti-defection law, at least two-thirds of the members of a parliamentary party need to move together to avoid disqualification. In TMC's case, with 29 MPs in the Lok Sabha, the number works out to around 19 or 20.</p>.<p>Political observers said the emphasis on numbers indicated that any such exercise, if it materialised, would likely aim at a bloc shift rather than isolated defections.</p>.Ahead of West Bengal Assembly elections, BJP and TMC hit by rebellion.<p>Rejecting Khan's claims, senior TMC MP Sougata Roy termed the reports as "baseless".</p>.<p>"It is absolutely bogus, which the BJP and Soumitra Khan are feeding to reporters. Nothing of this will happen," Roy said.</p>.<p>Ahead of the 2021 assembly elections, several prominent TMC leaders had switched to the BJP, only to return after the Mamata Banerjee-led party retained power. But political observers say the equations this time appear different, with the BJP now in office in Bengal after ending the TMC's 15-year rule — a development that many believe could alter political calculations and trigger fresh realignments.</p>.<p>The speculation also comes at a time when signs of unease within the TMC have become increasingly visible, with several legislators, MPs and leaders publicly expressing discontent in recent weeks, adding fresh momentum to discussions around shifting equations and the evolving internal dynamics within the party. </p>
<p>Kolkata: Senior <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/bjp">BJP</a> leader Saumitra Khan on Tuesday claimed that around 20 TMC MPs were in touch with the saffron camp and were ready to switch sides if the party leadership gave its approval, a charge swiftly dismissed by the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/tmc">TMC</a> as "bogus".</p>.<p>The claim assumes significance amid continuing political chatter over undercurrents within the TMC following its electoral setback in West Bengal and recent public signs of discontent by some leaders.</p>.<p>"Twenty TMC MPs are in touch with us. If the party leadership wants, they are ready to switch sides. If the BJP wants the entire TMC will wind up in the next few days," Khan, a three-term Lok Sabha MP, told reporters, without naming any MP.</p>.<p>The TMC currently has 29 MPs in the Lok Sabha out of 42 seats in West Bengal, whereas the BJP has 12 and the Congress has one.</p>.<p>Under the anti-defection law, at least two-thirds of the members of a parliamentary party need to move together to avoid disqualification. In TMC's case, with 29 MPs in the Lok Sabha, the number works out to around 19 or 20.</p>.<p>Political observers said the emphasis on numbers indicated that any such exercise, if it materialised, would likely aim at a bloc shift rather than isolated defections.</p>.Ahead of West Bengal Assembly elections, BJP and TMC hit by rebellion.<p>Rejecting Khan's claims, senior TMC MP Sougata Roy termed the reports as "baseless".</p>.<p>"It is absolutely bogus, which the BJP and Soumitra Khan are feeding to reporters. Nothing of this will happen," Roy said.</p>.<p>Ahead of the 2021 assembly elections, several prominent TMC leaders had switched to the BJP, only to return after the Mamata Banerjee-led party retained power. But political observers say the equations this time appear different, with the BJP now in office in Bengal after ending the TMC's 15-year rule — a development that many believe could alter political calculations and trigger fresh realignments.</p>.<p>The speculation also comes at a time when signs of unease within the TMC have become increasingly visible, with several legislators, MPs and leaders publicly expressing discontent in recent weeks, adding fresh momentum to discussions around shifting equations and the evolving internal dynamics within the party. </p>