Most political parties take years to build support before gaining influence. The Nationalist Citizens Party of India, a little-known group, has suddenly entered national attention. Registered in January 2023, it previously won just 822 votes in its only election and collected Rs 1.13 lakh in donations. Now, a husband-and-wife team from West Bengal may lead it to become the fifth-largest party in the Lok Sabha and the second-largest within the ruling NDA if the Speaker approves the merger of nearly 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs. The party would then hold 20 seats, ranking after the BJP with 240, Congress with 99, Samajwadi Party with 37, and DMK with 22. The Trinamool Congress would drop from 28 to nine MPs. The NCPI contested the 2023 Tripura assembly polls from two seats after four nominations were rejected, receiving 536 votes in Chawmanu and 286 in Kailashahar. Its finances remain modest, and it had little visibility before the proposed merger. Uttiya Kundu, listed as president, and Shewly Kundu, the treasurer, are central to the party’s operations and the merger talks.
