Mamata Banerjee to campaign for Samajwadi Party in UP; to attend virtual sabha with Akhilesh in Lucknow, Varanasi

File Photo of Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav from 2019. Credit: PTI Photo

Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee will campaign against the BJP in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections, and has at least two visits to the state queued up.

Samajwadi Party’s senior leader Kiranmoy Nanda on Tuesday met Banerjee at her residence in Kolkata to discuss the campaign.

Talking to the media after the meeting, Nanda said that he was here for discussion with Banerjee, and it has been decided that on February 8 she will be part of a virtual sabha jointly with Akhilesh Yadav, the SP chief. On the same day, she will also address a joint press conference.

The idea behind the joint sabha, Nanda said, is to send a message to the Samajwadi supporters and people in general who don’t want BJP in power in the state. Besides Lucknow, a second similar joint-sabha is planned for Varanasi, for which date is yet to be finalised.

Also read: UP polls: SP to launch registration campaign for free electricity sop

Nanda claimed that after having defeated the BJP in the state assembly elections last year, Mamata is now a national face in the fight against the BJP. He said that the Trinamool hasn’t asked for any seats in Uttar Pradesh for contesting elections, and is rather supporting the Samajwadi Party, like how the SP didn’t fight polls in West Bengal.

Talking about the strict restrictions in Uttar Pradesh, Nanda added that only virtual meets are possible. He alleged that the Samajwadi Party office is also being kept guarded and numerous complaints have been filed against the party workers.

Meanwhile, the Trinamool is also actively gearing up for Goa elections, the state where the party has been putting in strong efforts for the upcoming elections. While the Goa battle initially involved Congress and the BJP, the entry of the Trinamool in Goa has created newer challenges for parties contesting against the BJP. With Nanda clarifying that the Trinamool will not contest in Uttar Pradesh, it’s clear that the Trinamool has defined for itself the territories it’s going to explore during the upcoming elections. The party has already made its presence felt in Tripura and Meghalaya in the last few months.

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