Speaking at the rally, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee said: “SUCI and our party have joined hands to combat CPM. This is our first public rally. We want to win the forthcoming panchayat polls by defeating the Left.”

“Our present focus is to concentrate on strengthening the anti-CPM movement,” said SUCI leader Manik Mukherjee. Prior to this public meeting, SUCI state general secretary Prabhas Ghosh and Banerjee had met in private to discuss the agenda of the alliance.

According to sources, no decision has yet been taken on the number of seats SUCI is likely to share with Trinamool in the panchayat polls. But there is a chance that both the parties will join hands in East Midnapore and especially in Nandigram, sources added.

Banerjee demanded the immediate release of Nanda Patra, a local SUCI leader who was arrested yesterday in Nandigram. Protesting against the “police atrocities” on SUCI leaders, she said: “The Trinamool Congres will do whatever it can to ensure Patra’s release.”