Prakash Chik Baraik has resigned as a Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament, becoming the third Rajya Sabha MP from the party to step down within the same week. The development follows earlier resignations by Sushmita Dev, who joined the party after leaving the Congress in 2021, on Wednesday, and veteran leader Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, who announced his resignation on Monday.
The Trinamool Congress currently holds 28 Lok Sabha seats and 13 Rajya Sabha seats. However, internal divisions have intensified as a group of around 20 Lok Sabha MPs, led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, has reportedly formed a separate parliamentary bloc and expressed support for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.
The developments fall under the scope of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, commonly known as the Anti-Defection Law. Under its provisions, a split within a legislature party is recognized only when at least two-thirds of its members support the division. In the present scenario, the required threshold stands at 18.66 Members of Parliament, effectively rounded to 19 MPs for a legally valid split without attracting disqualification proceedings.
According to sources, the dissident faction claims it has crossed this constitutional threshold, strengthening its position against potential disqualification challenges. The group further asserts that it may be recognized as the legitimate representative faction under constitutional provisions.
If formalized, the breakaway bloc is not expected to merge directly with the Bharatiya Janata Party but would function as a separate parliamentary group supporting the legislative agenda of the National Democratic Alliance. BJP sources indicate that the rebel faction intends to claim recognition as the “real” Trinamool Congress and may approach the Speaker of the Lok Sabha as well as relevant legislative authorities to establish its legitimacy.
A parallel petition is also expected to be submitted to the Election Commission to stake a claim over the party’s official election symbol. The faction is preparing to argue that the Trinamool Congress is not operating in accordance with its own internal constitution, alleging that key decisions have been taken in violation of party rules and without proper internal consultation. It is further claimed that Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee exercised centralized and arbitrary control over organizational decisions.
Sources indicate that the strategy being considered draws on precedents involving internal splits in the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party, and the Lok Janshakti Party, where the Election Commission delivered significant rulings on competing factional claims.
Unlike cases requiring a formal merger under the anti-defection framework, the current situation may proceed under the “real party” doctrine, under which recognition can be granted to the faction deemed to represent the majority or legitimate organizational structure. In such a scenario, no formal merger would be necessary, and the rebel faction could retain its legislative positions if recognized as the authentic party unit.
A similar precedent is cited in the case of Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha Members of Parliament, where seven out of ten members crossed the two-thirds threshold and aligned with another political formation, allowing their memberships to remain intact.
If the rebel faction secures recognition as the legitimate party, the positions of its members would not be automatically affected, potentially preserving their parliamentary status. The evolving situation points toward a prolonged legal and constitutional battle over control, identity, and representation of the Trinamool Congress within India’s parliamentary framework.
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