Mamata Banerjee-Sonia Gandhi meeting on Wednesday

West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee will call on Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Wednesday. Banerjee today said that Sonia Gandhi had invited her to tea tomorrow. It is possible that Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Adhir Chowdhury may also be present at the meeting tomorrow. Chowdhury is the Congress chief in Bengal.

Banerjee left for Delhi on Monday afternoon and called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. She is in Delhi for the first time since she won a landslide victory in the Assembly elections for a third consecutive term. She is looking to unite the Opposition parties against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Before leaving Kolkata, at a press conference, Banerjee announced the formation of a panel comprising retired judges Justice Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya and Justice MB Lokur which will probe the phone hacking scandal in Bengal. Banerjee’s nephew, Trinamool Congress’ national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, was in the list of potential surveillance targets. Her poll strategist Prashant Kishor has also been in the alleged list. Today, after the meeting with PM Modi, Banerjee spoke to journalists about the need for a probe into the phone surveillance scandal.

Earlier today, Banerjee met Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Anand Sharma. Banerjee will be meeting several Opposition leaders. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal are also expected to call on her.