Mamata to meet Patnaik in Bhubaneswar on Thursday

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is on a three-day visit to Odisha, is set to meet her counterpart in the neighbouring state, Naveen Patnaik, on Thursday afternoon.

The scheduled meeting between the two non-BJP CMs assumes significance in the wake of Banerjee’s recent interaction with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Kolkata.

Banerjee’s party, the Trinamool Congress, and the Samajwadi Party have stated they would maintain equal distance from the BJP and the Congress, and reach out to regional parties ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha polls.

The Bengal CM had arrived in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, and offered prayers at the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Patnaik had in a statement on Tuesday said nothing has been discussed as yet on forming an opposition front ahead of the 2024 general elections.