Lucknow: Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal Chief Minister, is all set for election campaign in Uttar Pradesh. Banerjee, who reached Lucknow on Monday (February 7) night, is not contesting the UP Polls but has extended her support to Samajwadi Party (SP). She will address an election rally and hold a joint press conference with SP president Akhilesh Yadav during her two-day visit ahead of the state Assembly polls.
Yadav welcomed her at the Amausi airport here and shared this information on Twitter. "We defeated together in Bengal, now we will defeat in UP. This is a promise to Didi, we will emerge winners. Warm welcome and greetings to Didi in UP," the SP chief tweeted sharing a picture with Banerjee. Mamata Banerjee, who came out of the airport with the SP chief, was also welcomed by her party workers.
बंगाल में मिलकर हराया था अब यूपी में हराएंगे
दीदी से अपना वादा है हम फिर जीतकर आएंगेयूपी में दीदी का हार्दिक स्वागत एवं अभिनंदन! pic.twitter.com/ItWn9g7B2W
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) February 7, 2022
Today (February 8), Banerjee is scheduled to reach the SP office where she will address a joint press conference with Akhilesh Yadav. Apart from this, she will address a virtual rally.
Before leaving for Lucknow, Banerjee in Kolkata gave a call to defeat the BJP in the coming elections. She said Yadav has invited her to campaign for the BJP. "We (TMC) want BJP to be defeated and Akhilesh to win Uttar Pradesh. All of us should support him in the fight against the BJP. That is the reason we have decided not to contest in Uttar Pradesh this time," Banerjee, who is the Trinamool Congress chief, told reporters in Kolkata.
Banerjee said she will visit Varanasi later in February but the date is yet to be fixed.
Earlier, Banerjee had informed that Trinamool Congress (TMC) will not contest the Uttar Pradesh elections but will field candidates in the state in the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. "In Uttar Pradesh, I am not going to contest Assembly polls but I am going to support Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav. We (TMC) will contest from Uttar Pardesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls," she said, reflecting her national ambitions in the next general elections.
The Uttar Pradesh Assembly election will be held in seven phases - February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27, March 3, and 7. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.
