The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is working on a political strategy aimed at securing a two-thirds majority in Parliament, a move that, according to highly placed sources, could pave the way for the passage of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and eventually may lead to an early Lok Sabha election in 2027, two years ahead of schedule.
The internal strategy has gathered momentum following the BJP’s victory in the West Bengal Assembly election, which ended Mamata Banerjee’s long rule in the state and was followed by an unprecedented split in the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Sources familiar with the developments said the Bengal episode should not be viewed in isolation but as part of a broader political exercise to strengthen the ruling alliance’s numbers in Parliament before pursuing key legislative objectives.
According to senior BJP sources, the party’s immediate objective is to secure the parliamentary strength required to enact the UCC during the forthcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament. Once that objective is achieved, the leadership may consider recommending an early general election, possibly alongside the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election and polls in several other states scheduled for 2027. While no formal decision has been taken, the possibility is understood to be under active discussion within sections of the BJP leadership.
Sources also attributed the reported strategy to an internal assessment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political appeal, though still significant, is no longer as dominant as it was in 2014. They point to the BJP’s reduced tally in the 2024 Lok Sabha election compared with its previous two victories and claim that some within the leadership believe an earlier election could prove electorally advantageous rather than waiting until 2029.
The UCC has also acquired fresh significance within the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). According to sources familiar with discussions in the Sangh Parivar, the organisation has historically pursued three major ideological objectives: the abrogation of Article 370, the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code. With the first two objectives already achieved, attention has now shifted to the UCC, which is viewed by sections of the Sangh as achieving a huge ideological milestone.
Political sources said this explains the BJP’s reported determination to increase its strength in Parliament. Rather than attempting to engineer defections within the Congress, the largest opposition party, the leadership is understood to have concentrated on regional parties where the numerical requirements of the anti-defection law are easier to satisfy. Under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, legislators breaking away from a political party receive protection only if at least two-thirds of the legislature party separates together and merges with another political party. Achieving such a threshold, party strategists believe, is considerably more feasible in regional parties than in larger national formations.
The political template first became evident in Maharashtra with the split in the Shiv Sena, followed by divisions within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The developments in West Bengal represent the latest phase of the same strategy. The timing was deliberate. Efforts to weaken the TMC were held back until after the Assembly election because a victorious party would have been much harder to divide. Once the election results were declared, however, the political exercise accelerated rapidly.
The sequence of events was also carefully planned, according to sources familiar with the developments. Divisions first appeared within the TMC legislature party before extending to its parliamentary wing. The two exercises were allegedly handled separately so that the breakaway MLAs and MPs emerged as distinct political groups rather than a single rebel formation. Political observers describe this as one of the most striking features of the post-election developments in West Bengal.
The political crisis within the Trinamool Congress gathered pace within days of the West Bengal Assembly election results. On May 18, 2026, just 14 days after the declaration of the results, 19 of the party’s 28 Lok Sabha MPs wrote to Speaker Om Birla informing him that they had split from the parliamentary party and sought separate seating arrangements in the House. The signatories included several senior leaders regarded as close to Mamata Banerjee, among them Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Sayani Ghosh, Yusuf Pathan and Shatabdi Roy.
A few days later, the rebel MPs attended a meeting at the New Delhi residence of Union Minister Bhupender Yadav. The meeting was also attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and another former TMC MP who had earlier resigned from both Parliament and the party. Soon afterwards, the rebel MPs announced their merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a little-known registered political party based in Tripura.
According to the sources, the merger was aimed at complying with the provisions of the anti-defection law. Under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, legislators breaking away from a political party are protected from disqualification only if at least two-thirds of the members split together and merge with another political party. The article claims that the numbers were carefully assembled to meet this constitutional requirement.
According to the article, 58 of the TMC’s 80 MLAs in the West Bengal Assembly and 20 of its 28 Lok Sabha MPs have joined the breakaway camp, giving the rebels more than the required two-thirds strength in both the Assembly and the Lok Sabha. The developments have reduced Mamata Banerjee’s strength to merely 20 MLAs in the Assembly and eight MPs in the Lok Sabha. In the Rajya Sabha, four of the party’s 13 MPs have also resigned, reducing the party’s strength in the Upper House.
The split is now expected to trigger a prolonged legal battle. While the authority to recognise a split or merger rests with the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the presiding officers of the respective legislatures.
Political observers see similarities with Maharashtra, where the split in the Shiv Sena in 2022 eventually resulted in the Eknath Shinde faction being recognised by the Assembly Speaker and later by the Election Commission. The BJP has followed a similar political template in West Bengal after first experimenting with it in Maharashtra during the divisions in the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party.
The developments have also intensified discussions within opposition parties over a broader political realignment ahead of the next general election.
Congress leader Nana Patole has argued that secular and like-minded parties must unite to prevent a division of opposition votes. Patole indicated that leaders such as Sharad Pawar and Mamata Banerjee appear to be moving towards closer cooperation with the Congress. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has also publicly urged Sharad Pawar to lead efforts to bring smaller regional parties that originally emerged from the Congress back into the party.
According to the sources, the BJP’s political strategy is no longer confined to electoral contests in individual states but is increasingly focused on reshaping the parliamentary arithmetic before the next general election. Whether that strategy ultimately culminates in an early Lok Sabha election in 2027 remains to be seen. However, with the reported push to secure a two-thirds parliamentary majority, the proposed Uniform Civil Code, the split within the Trinamool Congress and signs of renewed churn within the opposition, political parties across the spectrum are expected to closely watch the coming Monsoon Session of Parliament and the legal battle over the TMC split, both of which could have a significant bearing on the country’s political direction in the run-up to the next general election.
