Feb. 22: No one is sure when exactly the shift from the Left to Trinamul took place but several leaders of the ruling party said in private that Shibaji Panja became close to Mamata Banerjee in the run-up to the change of guard in 2011.

Panja was among those who accompanied Mamata Banerjee to Writers' Buildings after she took oath as chief minister, according to Trinamul insiders.

Since then, there has been no looking back for him - from being included in the screening committee of the Calcutta Film Festival to advising the chief minister on all matters cultural.

"This is an important post, given that the committee selects films that are screened at the festival," a senior Nabanna official said.

According to him, Panja was also made a member of the task force of the information and cultural affairs department that decides on the publicity of government projects.

Panja, a student of City College on Amherst Street, was also a key member of the awards committee of the Tele Academy that Mamata announced in 2013.

Nabanna officials recounted that Panja became all the more close to the chief minister when he supplied more than 50 laptops overnight for a programme organised to felicitate Madhyamik and higher secondary toppers in June 2011.

"The chief minister wanted to distribute laptops among successful candidates but government rules were coming in the way of arranging the devices overnight. Panja solved the problem. He gave more than 50 laptops," a government official said.

Bureaucrats The Telegraph spoke to rued having to follow Panja's advice.

"He used to give ideas to the chief minister. But it was not always possible to follow them because of certain government norms. He often tried to convince her that officials were not willing to work. This was embarrassing," a Nabanna official said, requesting not to be identified.

Another bureaucrat said: "A low point in my long tenure in this state has been having to take orders from Shibaji Panja. Who is he? How did he come to enjoy such sweeping powers on most things cultural? It's time to ask the honourable chief minister these questions."

A senior bureaucrat recalled that though Panja had embarrassed Mamata on some occasions, she gave him a long rope.

"Once he kicked up a fuss in a five-star hotel in the city. When the hotel staff protested, he used the chief minister's name. One of the senior management members of the hotel, who was abroad then, called up the chief minister and informed her of the ruckus. Although Panja was sidelined for a while and his access was restricted to Writers', he bounced back soon," said the officer.

Panja is considered powerful in Trinamul circles because of his proximity with Mamata. "Sometime in late 2011, he had forced me out of the CMO saying the CM was busy," said a Trinamul MLA today.

Panja earned his place in the inner circle by showing loyalty. He is the editor of Sangrami Ma, Mati, Manush, a weekly magazine. The magazine was started after Trinamul came to power and carries a column by the chief minister titled "Chalo Jai (let's go)".

A source said: "There is some dispute over the title of the magazine. Earlier it used to be called Ma Mati Manush. But that title was registered in someone else's name, who protested after Panja brought out the magazine in the same name. After failing to convince the original owner to part with the title, he added Sangrami to the title."

According to sources, Panja was also one of the organisers of the exhibitions of the chief minister's paintings.

A large section of Tollywood echoed the bureaucrats.

"What is his contribution to the industry? Nothing. Thanks to the chief minister's patronage, he is the dada of Tollywood. Everyone is expected to pay obeisance to him, and at all cultural programmes he decides who from the industry will be there and who won't. He acts like the Tollywood minister of Bengal," said an A-lister from the film industry.

Panja, known as "SP" among his friends in Tollywood, became a television producer with Vandana Films, whose first production was Mouchak, a daily soap on STAR Jalsha. Two of the most popular TV serials - Dwiragaman (Zee Bangla) and Tumi Ashbe Bole (STAR Jalsha) - are currently produced by Panja.

His next, Chokher Bali, a serial for STAR Jalsha, is scheduled to be aired soon. Panja, who lives on Prince Anwar Shah Road, also runs an event management company that organises many programmes like the annual Tele Samman. His wife Bulbuli Panja is an actress.

Active on Twitter and Facebook, Panja hardly missed any opportunity to praise the chief minister on the social networking sites.

Panja and his Hare School classmate Kaustav Ray got together to form a company around 1999 to assemble computers. The business flourished under the patronage of erstwhile Left Front government as Ray had strong ties with the CPM then.

They later started branding computers under the Chirag name around 2007 and competed fiercely with many established national and international brands. However, the company went downhill and the two parted ways a few years ago on a sour note.

Panja now heads Vandana Films while Ray runs Kolkata TV.

In Bangladesh, Panja was mostly seen in the company of film producers or actors. Other than hanging around with Shrikant Mohta, Panja was spotted with Dev at the lobby of the hotel where Mamata had put up.

What surprised many in Bangladesh was Panja's penchant to sport dark glasses, irrespective of the hour. When someone asked him why he was wearing dark glasses in the evening, Panja said he had an eye infection.

When the chief minister was in Singapore last year, Panja had spent most of the time with - no prizes for guessing - Dev and Mohta.