Mamata Banerjee in Delhi for INDIA bloc meeting, Suvendu Adhikari takes a dig

Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee arrived in Delhi on Tuesday to take part in a meeting of the opposition INDIA bloc. The Trinamool Congress leader was accompanied by party MPs Dola Sen and Kalyan Banerjee.

Speaking to reporters in the national capital, Ms. Banerjee said the alliance was meeting and that her party had come to participate. She said the opposition's target was the Chief Election Commissioner and his "full software team", whom she accused of cheating and betraying the people. She added that she had been referring to Gyanesh Kumar as "Vanish Kumar".

The visit comes amid a push by opposition parties to close ranks on the issue of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls and the role of the Chief Election Commissioner. CPI(M) general secretary M. A. Baby recently reached out to Ms. Banerjee to build unity among opposition parties on the matter. Ms. Banerjee has also held talks with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, and said at a public meeting that she was prepared to ally with any party on the issue concerning the Chief Election Commissioner.

Back in Kolkata, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari criticised the former Chief Minister over the trip. He alleged that she was going to Delhi to hold a "planning session with Dimagi Naxals" and said he would ask the Delhi Police and the central Intelligence Bureau to keep a watch. Claiming that the INDIA alliance was "finished", he said it was necessary to see whether she held meetings with anti-India forces, and described her as an "advisor for Dimagi Naxals". Mr. Adhikari also criticised the coming together of the CPI(M) and the TMC, long-time rivals in the state.