India, June 11 -- Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee met Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday to explore possibilities to deepen ties, a day after party chief Mamata Banerjee met Sonia Gandhi, but the regional party junked speculation that the two outfits were discussing a merger.

A senior TMC leader, aware of the details said: "The two leaders discussed a lot of issues including the plans of the INDIA alliance and the way ahead for the two parties. There were also some political discussions related to Rahul Gandhi's remarks at the INDIA meeting on vote theft."

"There were also discussions on better coordination and for the next INDIA meeting which will take place in Hyderabad," the lea...