Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday met TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee at her Kalighat residence and expressed solidarity with the party leadership following its defeat in the West Bengal assembly polls, while alleging that the elections in the state were conducted on the "Uttar Pradesh model" through intimidation and manipulation.
Yadav was received by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, where the SP chief is understood to have discussed the post-poll political situation in West Bengal and reiterated support for opposition unity against the BJP.
The meeting assumed political significance amid efforts by opposition parties to recalibrate strategies after the recent assembly elections in several states, and as Banerjee has vowed to strengthen the INDIA bloc after the TMC's electoral debacle.
"You have not lost. The fight to save democracy will continue, and we stand beside you," Yadav was heard telling Banerjee during the meeting, sources present there said.
He also congratulated Abhishek Banerjee for "putting up a strong fight" in the elections.
Addressing reporters later, Yadav alleged that the Bengal polls witnessed "multi-layered mafia tactics" involving the BJP, the Election Commission and "underground elements."
"What happened in Uttar Pradesh was repeated in Bengal. Opposition polling agents were threatened, and votes were conducted under fear. Central forces were used to ensure the defeat of the opposition," he alleged.
"The election was looted. BJP, the Election Commission and underground elements together conducted this election," the SP chief claimed, while displaying photographs and data before mediapersons to support his allegations.
He further alleged that officials were "lured with promises of higher posts" to influence the electoral process and claimed that BJP candidates secured unusually high victory margins in several constituencies because opposition polling agents were intimidated.
Yadav also expressed concern over the safety of Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, alleging that the BJP was "anti-women", and asserted that democratic forces across the country must unite.
The SP leader also questioned the post-poll violence in the state and, when asked about the killing of Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari's close aide Chandranath Rath, said Union Home Minister Amit Shah should be answerable for the incident.
"Answers should be sought from him for the lapses," Yadav said.
Rath, considered a close associate and executive assistant to Adhikari, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in North 24 Parganas district on Wednesday, triggering sharp political reactions amid mounting post-poll tension in the state.
The BJP won 207 seats to secure more than a two-thirds majority in the 294-member West Bengal assembly, ending the TMC's uninterrupted 15-year rule in the state.
The Mamata Banerjee-led party was reduced to 80 seats.
Banerjee, however, has maintained that she and her party were defeated through "manipulation" and has so far remained unwilling to tender her resignation as chief minister ahead of the formation of the new government.