Kolkata | Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha MP Jaya Bachchan on Thursday called on former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee at her Kalighat residence here, amid continuing political chatter over opposition realignments after the TMC's defeat in the assembly polls.
Bachchan arrived at Banerjee's residence in the afternoon along with TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien.
The details of the meeting were not immediately known.
The visit assumes significance as it comes days after senior Samajwadi Party leader Kiranmoy Nanda, during a visit to Kolkata, held the former CM responsible for the Trinamool Congress' defeat in the polls, and remarked that "people did not want Mamata".
His comments had fuelled speculation about the growing distance between the two INDIA bloc partners in the aftermath of the BJP's emphatic victory in West Bengal.
Shortly after the election results, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had flown to Kolkata and met Banerjee at her residence, in a gesture widely seen as an expression of solidarity with the TMC supremo following the party's electoral setback.
Political observers said Bachchan's visit indicated that communication channels between the two opposition parties remained open despite recent public criticism from sections of the Samajwadi Party leadership.
