The Trinamool Congress's Lok Sabha unit teeters on the brink of a split after 14 lawmakers met in Delhi and discussed breaking away in the presence of Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
The meeting came hours after veteran TMC leader Sukhendu Sekhar Ray resigned from the Rajya Sabha, alleging "unbridled corruption" and "anarchical rule" of the party.
The rebel TMC parliamentarians met at the house of Union Minister and BJP observer for Bengal polls Bhupender Yadav for two hours, and later at the residence of four-time Birbhum MP Shatabdi Roy.
Barasat MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said the rebel group decided to support the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to formally support the NDA.
The rebels need at least 19 of the 28 Lok Sabha members of the TMC to escape anti-defection proceedings.
