Kolkata/IBNS, May 9 -- Days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to power in West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee reached out to her political rivals and urged them to close ranks against what she described as the state's "first enemy".

Addressing a gathering outside her Kalighat residence on Rabindranath Tagore's birth anniversary, the Trinamool Congress supremo appealed to the Left, the ultra-Left, national parties, student organisations and non-governmental organisations to come together on a common platform to oppose the BJP.

The appeal marked a significant political message from Mamata Banerjee after the BJP's emphatic victory ended the Trinamool Congress's 15-year rule in the state.

Mamata Banerjee said all parties opposed to the...