Abhishek Banerjee, national general secretary of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), will meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday (June 19, 2026) regarding the split in the party, after 20 Lok Sabha MPs declared a “merger” with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).

In a letter dated June 10 addressed to the Speaker, Mr. Banerjee urged him not to recognise or grant separate status to any rebel TMC faction in the Lok Sabha. The letter was submitted to the Speaker’s office on June 14, just hours before the rebel faction met Mr. Birla.

The letter contended that the TMC is a “single, indivisible political party” and that its legislative wing cannot be separated from the parent organisation. It added that no breakaway group based solely on signatures can claim recognition.

The Speaker’s office had initially invited Mr. Banerjee to meet him on Monday at 4 p.m., via an email sent at 2 p.m., on a day when he was being questioned by the Enforcement Directorate. Mr. Banerjee sought a fresh date and time to present his case, following which Mr. Birla scheduled the meeting for Friday.