Sonia Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee came face to face after almost two years at the meet-and-greet session of Opposition leaders in Bangalore on Monday and spoke to each other at length.

The bonhomie has stirred expectations in the Opposition camp that the bitterness between Trinamul and the Congress in Bengal is unlikely to cast a shadow over a united fight against the BJP at the national level.

The Bengal chief minister, multiple sources said, spent about two hours and a half at the session, held at a hotel, although she had initially planned to be there for barely an hour and return to her hotel.

“Let me go there and see what happens…. I will be back in an hour,” Mamata had told The Telegraph while leaving her hotel around 5.40pm.

The chief minister returned to her hotel at 8.40pm.

“It was a very productive meeting today.... I am hopeful that we will be able to come up with a constructive approach to put up a united fight against the BJP in the national interest,” Mamata told this newspaper after the meet-and-greet session.

The meet-and-greet session of the Opposition leaders was followed by a dinner hosted by Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah.

Mamata, who is recuperating from injuries suffered during an emergency landing by her chopper on June 27,did not take part in the dinner but spoke to almost all the prominent Opposition leaders before leaving the venue.

Trinamul national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and party MP Derek O’Brien stayed on for the dinner.

“She did not eat anything but spoke to almost everyone at the dinner hall, spent over half an hour as some discussions were still going on.... Her involvement through the evening was very encouraging,” said a source, before adding that she extended the duration of her stay in “honour of Soniaji”.

At least two sources said the bonhomie between “Didi and Soniaji” was more than apparent in the evening. “Before the start of the meeting, they were seen talking to each other for about 30 minutes,” said a source.

Mamata has been bullish about the prospects of Opposition unity ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

Mamata Banerjee is welcomed by DK Shivakumar in Bangalore on Monday Sourced by The Telegraph

That is the primary reason behind her decision to press the pause button on another surgical process on her injured leg and fly to Bangalore for the unity meeting hosted by the Congress.

A Trinamul source said that Mamata’s choice of the phrase, “national interest”, is significant in the backdrop of the regular verbal volleys by Bengal Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury against her. Last week, Chowdhury had launched an all-out attack on Mamata for the “violence during the panchayat polls” and accused her of “acting at the behest of the BJP” to stymie the possibility of Opposition unity.

Trinamul insiders believe that these comments by Chowdhury, made at regular intervals, are likely to jeopardise the possibility of a united fight by Trinamul and the Congress against the BJP in Bengal.

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury added another dimension to the complexity on Monday with his claim that there was no possibility of any tie-up with Trinamul, and that the Left and the Congress would fight it out together in Bengal.

Mamata, a source close to her said, was not happy with Yechury’s comment on the eve of the unity meeting and conveyed her displeasure to Sonia.

“The Congress leadership is also aware of how the Left and the party’s state unit are attacking Didi and that’s why they are making a special effort to keep Didi in good humour,” said a source.

The seating arrangement -- Sonia flanked by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Mamata -- was planned as part of this attempt.

“The bitterness of the state Congress chief towards her is a problem. Some CPM leaders are compounding it with their comments.... But the fact that all these don’t matter much became clear in Soniaji’s approach towards Didi.... That’s why the two parties will work together against the BJP at the national level,” said a source.

“Lalu Prasadji, in his short address, mentioned how the two (the Bengal Congress unit and CPM leaders) are attacking Didi,” added the source.

Multiple sources in the Congress and some other regional parties said that the top leaders were aware of the “state-level hitches” but were confident of keeping them aside for the larger cause of Opposition unity.

At the meet-and-greet session, all the leaders were given the agenda on which Tuesday’s deliberations will take place and the next course of possible actions -- such as drafting a common minimum programme, appointing a convener, holding state-level discussions on seat-sharing and deciding the date and venue for the next meeting -- that could be drawn up. After the meeting, the leaders of 26 parties will address a joint news conference.

“Earlier, the plan was to hold a media interaction after the lunch session.... Didi suggested that the media should be briefed immediately after the meeting. She also suggested that the group that will coordinate the affairs of the Opposition parties should be called a joint committee instead of a subcommittee,” said a source.