Trinamool’s ‘nepo babies’ face tough contest in 2026 Assembly election

The Trinamool Congress’s attempt to pass the torch to the next generation by fielding a trio of younger candidates in Kolkata and adjoining districts for the upcoming Assembly election comes with a twist — all three are children of prominent party leaders.

In the Maniktala seat in the heart of Kolkata, the party has fielded Shrreya Pande, 42, daughter of the late Sadhan Pande, a Minister in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Cabinet till his death in 2022. In the subsequent bypoll, his wife Supti Pandey represented the seat, meaning that the voters of this constituency in north Kolkata have continuously elected the parents of Ms. Shrreya Pande for over two decades.