West Bengal Chief Minister (CM) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee is slated to campaign for the Samajwadi Party in the upcoming Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, reported PTI, citing Samajwadi Party vice-president Kiranmay Nanda. TMC will not be contesting the polls themselves in the state.
According to PTI, Nanda, who had previously had an hour-long meeting with Banerjee, said on Tuesday, 19 January:
"The Trinamool Congress will not contest in Uttar Pradesh and will support Samajwadi Party in the fight against the BJP.”.
Dubbing Banerjee a “strong leader”, Nanda said: “… and the way she fought against the BJP and defeated it in the West Bengal Assembly Election in 2021 is a lesson for the entire opposition.”
Further, as per Nanda, Banerjee is slated to conduct virtual campaigns along with SP president Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow and Varanasi.
“She will be in Lucknow on 8 February and attend a virtual campaign. She will then hold a joint press conference with Akhilesh ji,” Nanda reportedly said.
The state of Uttar Pradesh will go to polls in seven phases, starting 10 February and culminating on 7 March.
(With inputs from PTI.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)