Akhilesh meets Mamata in Kolkata, pledges support for opposition unity

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav met TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Thursday and expressed solidarity with the its leadership following the party’s defeat in the West Bengal assembly polls. Yadav was received by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee at the Kalighat residence of the party's supreme leader. The meeting assumed political significance amid efforts by opposition parties to recalibrate their strategies after the elections in several states. Banerjee has vowed to strengthen the INDIA bloc after the TMC's defeat in the West Bengal polls. Yadav is understood to have discussed the post-poll political situation in West Bengal and reiterated support for opposition unity against the BJP. The BJP won 207 seats to secure more than a two-thirds majority in the 294-member West Bengal assembly, ending the TMC’s 15-year rule. The Mamata Banerjee-led party got only 80 seats.