Let’s not meet before election results are out: Mamata Banerjee to Chandrababu Naidu

Hyderabad: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has asked AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to postpone the proposed meeting of Opposition parties on May 21. Mr Naidu was in West Bengal to campaign in support of the Trinamul Congress.

The two Chief Ministers held a closed door meeting on Thursday night.

TD national spokesperson Kambhampati Ram Mohan Rao, who is accompanying Mr Naidu, said that the Chief Ministers discussed national politics for about 45 minutes. The meeting of Opposition parties scheduled for May 21 in Delhi, two days before the Lok Sabha results, also came up for discussion, said Mr Rao, who is also the AP government special representative at Delhi.

Ms Banerjee suggested postponing the meeting as Opposition parties have to focus on the safety of EVMs kept in strong rooms ahead of counting day. She said, “We have to keep a close watch on strong rooms and EVMs. We can meet after the Lok Sabha results.”

Reacting to this, Mr Naidu told her that a final decision on the date could be taken after discussing the matter with other Opposition parties.

The CMs also discussed plans to form a ‘mahagathbandhan’ in the post-poll scenario. Mr Naidu briefed Ms Banerjee about his meeting with Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Delhi before leaving for Kolkata.