Archive · 3 Aug 2026
Shashi Panja’s Meeting Fuels Trinamool Defection Rumors
Shashi Panja is a former minister in the Trinamool Congress party in India.
She lost her seat in the 2023 elections and has been quiet since.
A week ago, she met secretly with Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, a member of the national parliament who left Trinamool to lead a new party called NCPI.
The meeting happened in a research institute close to the Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee’s home.
Because of this meeting, people are guessing that Shashi might switch sides to the new party.
The Trinamool party has a rebel group that wants to be recognized as the real party by the Election Commission.
No one from Shashi or the Trinamool leadership has said anything yet, so the story is still developing.
Shashi Panja, a former Trinamool Congress cabinet minister, reportedly met privately with Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, a Lok Sabha MP who left the party to lead the NCPI, sparking speculation of her defection.
The two‑hour closed‑door meeting took place at Kakoli’s fertility research institute in Bhowanipore, just a kilometre from Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence.
Shashi lost her 2023 assembly seat to BJP’s Purnima Chakraborty and has since remained silent, heightening rumors that she may join the BJP‑backed rebel bloc.
The Trinamool Congress’s rebel faction, led by Ritabrata Banerjee, has asked the Election Commission to recognise it as the “real” party and has already attracted several senior leaders.
No official statement has been issued by Shashi or the Mamata camp, and observers are awaiting clarification in the coming week.
- Who
- Shashi Panja, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Trinamool Congress members
- What
- A closed‑door meeting that sparked speculation of Shashi Panja’s defection to the NCPI
- When
- Saturday (date not specified)
- Where
- Kakoli’s fertility research institute in Bhowanipore, Kolkata
- Why
- Shashi Panja’s recent electoral defeat and the rise of the BJP‑backed rebel bloc
- Key Figures
- Shashi Panja, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar
- Alleged Meeting Location
- Kakoli’s fertility research institute, Bhowanipore
- Political Parties
- Trinamool Congress, NCPI
- Date of Meeting
- Saturday (exact date not specified)
- Outcome
- Speculation of defection, no confirmation
- Election Commission Request
- Recognise NCPI as the real Trinamool