Trinamool Congress to test poll waters in UP

Lucknow, Jan 4: After demolishing the Left bastion in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee is all set to make its electoral debut in the Hindi heartland of Uttar Pradesh in the coming assembly polls.

The party, in coalition with the Rashtriya Parivartan Morcha comprising smaller parties, would contest the coming elections, newly-appointed convenor of the state unit of the Trinamool Congress, Bhagwan Singh said here.

Though the Morcha would be contesting all the 403 seats, the Trinamool is yet to decide on the number of seats on which it would be fielding its candidates and a formal announcement in this regard would be made in Delhi on January 6, Singh said.

The party would be availing the services of all of its top leaders, including its president and the West Bengal Chief Minister, who could address election meetings in the state.

The party chief is likely to address meetings in ten major cities of the state including Lucknow, Meerut, Agra, Moradabad, Aligarh, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Allahabad and Sonebhadra, he said.

Besides, central ministers and MPs of the party are also likely to campaign in the state, he said, adding the Morcha would contest on the issue of development and political change in the state.

“As casteist parties have pushed the state back, political change would be an important factor in the coming polls”, he said.

The TMC leader said in Uttar Pradesh, where politicians are facing various charges, the clean and upright image of Banerjee would be helpful for the morcha.

The Morcha would go to polls on the issue of development and urge the electorate to look beyond caste, creed and religion and cast their votes for progress, he said.

Besides the Trinamool Congress, smaller parties like the National Loktantrik Party, Labour Party, Mahan Dal, Ati Pichra Muslim Sangathan, Jai Bharat Samanta Party, Jansatta Party, Bharat Kranti Rath Party and Samata Mulak Dal are part of the Morcha.

PTI