(This story originally appeared in on May 15, 2017)

KOLKATA: Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi , the first after the latter’s party entering into an electoral alliance with Banerjee’s arch rival CPM in the 2016 assembly election, may just spur an uneasy alliance among these parties.The meeting, though aimed at selecting a Presidential candidate, may lead to a change in the political equation in the state and renew the camaraderie between the Gandhis and Banerjee.The May 16 meeting assumes significance as the cordial relationship between the two had hit a roadblock post Rahul Gandhi’s decision to ally with the CPM.In the run up to the Presidential election, Sonia Gandhi started putting renewed efforts to forge an Opposition alliance and it appears incomplete without bringing on board Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, the third largest party in Opposition.Meanwhlile, the Bengal CM, who has long been trying to find a foothold nationally as a credible Opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi , needs a national party like the Congress by her side. While Banerjee will head to Delhi on May 15 responding to Sonia Gandhi's call, there is palpable tension in the state Congress about the upcoming political equation.Adhir Chowdhury, president of the Congress Pradesh Committee, is learnt to have written a letter to the party high command requesting her to deal with Banerjee carefully as most of the Trinamool leaders are under the scanner in Saradaha and Narada scams. Moreover, the party workers are often attacked by Trinamool in the state, Chowdhury wrote.Trinamool Congress leaders, however, feel that there had never been anything “wrong” between Sonia Gandhi and Banerjee and they still share a warm relationship.A veteran MP of the Trinamool Congress said: “Didi has always maintained that she had no problem in standing last in the queue. She had gone to the extent of requesting all Opposition parties including CPM to come together against Narendra Modi’s government. And, she never asked for a special post for herself. Instead, she volunteered to take up the challenge to stand against the mighty Modi. So, the Opposition parties now need to keep their petty politics and vested interests aside and come together.”Trinamool Congress leaders further highlighted the last programme of a united Opposition in which 16 parties including the Congress, CPM and the Trinamool Congress came together to register their protest to President Pranab Mukherjee against the ruling NDA.Sources in the Trinamool said Banerjee might place President Mukherjee’s name as one of her choices as the candidate. However, given the present situation, where the Trinamool Congress is understandably on the back foot due to ongoing investigations involving its leaders in several scams, the CM might settle for a common candidate selected by all major parties. After the meeting with Sonia Gandhi, Banerjee may meet Delhi CMArvind Kejriwal next week.