India, June 15 -- A detailed political realignment is unfolding in West Bengal as 20 rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) Lok Sabha MPs have opted to align with the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) instead of directly joining the BJP, in what observers describe as a carefully engineered move to bypass anti-defection law constraints.

According to political analysis, the decision to merge with NCPI offers the rebel MPs a legally safer pathway to exit the TMC while retaining their collective strength in Parliament. The obscure Tripura-based party, despite its limited political footprint, has become a strategic vehicle for the group's transition into the broader National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ecosystem.

The rebel MPs ha...