He reached Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata at 11.40 a.m. accompanied by his party colleague and former Rajya Sabha member Kiranmay Nanda and Trinamool Congress member in the Rajya Sabha and national spokesman Derek O'Brien.

Nanda was the West Bengal Fisheries minister in the previous Left Front regime when his party had an understanding with the CPI(M)-led Left Front in the state.

It is learnt that Yadav and Nanda will go straight to the Martyr’s Day rally at Esplanade in central Kolkata. The main attraction of the programme, like in previous years, is the speech of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Now it is to be seen what message Chief Minister Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav give to highlight the future programmes of the INDIA bloc at the national level.

Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh said the relationship between the Chief Minister and the SP chief is like “elder sister and younger brother".

“The Chief Minister personally invited him to join her at the dais of the Martyr’s Day programme and we are happy that he has come,” Ghosh said.

Trinamool Congress’ four-time Lok Sabha member Saugata Roy said that he is eagerly waiting for the message from the Chief Minister amid an “unstable” Central government.

“The Chief Minister will surely highlight the party’s national agenda in her speech today,” he said.