Samajwadi Party National President Akhilesh Yadav met West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC Supremo Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Thursday. TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee was also present. | Photo credit: ANI
Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday (May 7, 2026) called on Trinamool Congress (TMC) president Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee in Kolkata.
The SP leader arrived at the former Chief Minister’s Kalighat residence and was received by Mr. Banerjee. “You have fought very well,” Mr Yadav was heard telling Mr Banerjee.
Ms. Banerjee welcomed Mr. Yadav and said, “We have lost.”
“No, no, you didn’t lose,” Mr Yadav replied.
Speaking to media persons after the meeting, Mr. Yadav alleged that the votes for the West Bengal Assembly elections were stolen by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Election Commission of India (ECi) and other agencies.
“We are in this battle with Didi (Mamata Banerjee) because we have to save democracy and the constitution. If the right to vote is taken away, what will be left of democracy?” Mr. Yadav said. He expressed the hope that after the West Bengal elections, people would “learn a lesson and not let the BJP hijack the elections”.
The SP leader called the BJP anti-women and said Ms Banerjee was targeted because of her gender. “Didi is not a person who should be disappointed. She is a fighting person. BJP is patriarchal and feudal. That is why Didi has been targeted because she is a woman,” he said.
The meeting between the leaders of the two opposition parties has assumed political significance amid efforts by the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc to realign its strategies after elections in several states. In her first media interaction after the loss, the Trinamool president said she will work to strengthen INDIA’s alliance. Uttar Pradesh assembly elections will be held in 2027 where SP will take on BJP.
After the meeting, the Trinamool Congress shared photos of the leaders from its official X handle to say, “Some bonds transcend politics and time and grow stronger with every season.”
Mr Yadav also posted photos of the meeting and said, “Didi always won hearts, that’s her eternal victory.”
“The meeting with the most powerful and prestigious representative of half of the country’s population, i.e. women, today injected new energy and new heights into the politics of struggle,” said the head of the SP on social networks.
In the recently concluded West Bengal elections, the BJP won 207 seats to secure more than two-thirds majority in the 294-member West Bengal Legislative Assembly. The TMC, led by Ms. Banerjee, was reduced to just 80 seats.
After the loss, several leaders of INDIA’s opposition bloc, including Sonia Gandhi, turned on Ms Banerjee. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren were leading the way for the Trinamool Congress during the election campaign for the recently concluded West Bengal elections.
Published – 07 May 2026 16:09 IST
