{
  "type": "article",
  "title": "TMC's Shashi Panja Visits Rebel MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar's Clinic Again, Fuels Fresh Exit Buzz",
  "summary": "TMC leader Shashi Panja visited NCPI MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar's clinic for the second straight day, reigniting speculation that she could be preparing to leave the party.",
  "content": "West Bengal's political circles were abuzz again on Monday after Trinamool Congress leader Shashi Panja visited the clinic of Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, the MP linked to the NCPI, for the second straight day. Her repeated visits have once again fuelled speculation that she could be preparing to part ways with Mamata Banerjee's party. Panja, a former minister, gave no clear answer when reporters pressed her on the possibility of quitting the TMC.\n\nAll she said while walking out of the clinic\nAs Panja stepped out of the clinic, waiting journalists stopped her and asked whether she was preparing to leave the Trinamool Congress. She responded with a faint smile and just four words: \"I have to go.\" She then walked away without saying anything further. That brief remark itself raised plenty of questions, since she neither denied the speculation outright nor confirmed it, even as reporters pressed her repeatedly for a clearer answer.\n\nA meeting just 800 metres from Mamata Banerjee's home\nNotably, the clinic Panja visited is located barely 800 metres from former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's residence in Kalighat. The short distance between the two locations has only added to the buzz around Panja's political leanings. She had visited the same clinic last week as well, and that visit too had triggered similar speculation in political circles. Two visits to the same place within two consecutive weeks are being read as more than mere coincidence.\n\nGhosh Dastidar says the bond is over three decades old, purely medical\nGhosh Dastidar, who had herself rebelled against the TMC, has firmly denied any political angle to these meetings. She said her association with Panja goes back more than three decades and is entirely tied to her profession as a doctor, with nothing to do with politics. Despite her clarification, speculation in political circles has shown no sign of dying down.\n\n20 MPs have already walked out on Mamata Banerjee\nThe cracks within Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress have become evident since the West Bengal assembly election results were declared. 20 Lok Sabha MPs from the party have already rebelled and broken away from the TMC. These MPs have together formed a separate group called the Nationalist Citizens Party of India, or NCPI, and all of them have extended their support to the NDA. They recently attended an NDA parliamentary party meeting for the first time. Several other leaders within the party are also ready to leave Mamata Banerjee, and that is precisely why TMC leaders have been meeting these rebel leaders in an attempt to persuade them to stay.\n\nWhat this means for you\nThis story has no direct effect on anyone's wallet, but it matters for anyone tracking West Bengal's political landscape.\n\n• Across India: The ongoing split within the Trinamool Congress could shape national-level coalition arithmetic and the anti-NDA camp going forward.\n• In West Bengal: If a senior, former minister like Shashi Panja also exits, it could further weaken the TMC's organisational base and affect the state's political stability.\n\nQuestions & Answers\n\n1. Who is Shashi Panja?\nShashi Panja is a Trinamool Congress leader and a former minister who recently visited Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar's clinic for two consecutive days.\n\n2. Who is Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar?\nShe is the NCPI-linked MP who had earlier rebelled against the Trinamool Congress.\n\n3. What did Panja say while leaving the clinic?\nWhen reporters asked if she was leaving the TMC, she smiled faintly and only said, 'I have to go,' avoiding a direct answer.\n\n4. Where is the clinic located?\nThe clinic is barely 800 metres from Mamata Banerjee's residence in Kalighat.\n\n5. How many MPs have already left the TMC?\n20 Lok Sabha MPs have rebelled and formed a separate group called the NCPI, extending their support to the NDA.\n\n6. How did Ghosh Dastidar explain these meetings?\nShe said her bond with Panja is over three decades old and purely tied to her medical profession, not politics.",
  "url": "https://trendkia.com/en/politics/shashi-panja-phira-pahunchin-kakoli-ghosh-dastidar-ke-klinika-tmc-men-halachala-teja-13431",
  "category": "Politics",
  "publishedAt": "2026-08-04",
  "tags": [
    "Shashi Panja",
    "Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar",
    "Trinamool Congress",
    "NCPI",
    "Mamata Banerjee",
    "West Bengal politics",
    "TMC rebel MPs"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "site": "TrendKia"
}