Akhilesh may meet Mamata during his visit to Kolkata

kolkata: The Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Singh Yadav may soon meet Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee during his upcoming scheduled visit to Kolkata for attending his party’s two-day national executive meeting starting March 18.

Sources said that following the footsteps of his father Late Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh would come down to Kolkata for the two-day national executive that is being held after a gap of 11 years.

Mulayam had chaired the last meeting. Akhilesh is scheduled to arrive on March 17 to address the party workers in Kolkata as part of the meeting.

It is learnt that during his stay in Kolkata, Akhilesh intends to meet the TMC

chief Mamata Banerjee to discuss strategies for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Besides Lok Sabha polls, the Samajwadi Party’s national executive meeting will also focus on strategies for Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh which are due to go to polls later this year.

The bonhomie between Akhilesh and Banerjee became more apparent in the 2021 Bengal Assembly elections when the former lent his support to Mamata who in turn returned the favour by campaigning for Akhilesh in Uttar Pradesh before the Assembly elections there.

However, Samajwadi Party sources said as of now no meeting has been fixed between the two but Akhilesh may meet Banerjee if she is in city then.

The party has held its national executive in Kolkata before on at least five occasions. Ahead of the 2019

Lok Sabha polls, Akhilesh, along with other prominent Opposition leaders, had visited Kolkata on the invitation of Mamata Banerjee for a mega rally that sought to establish a strong opposition coalition to dethrone the BJP.