UP elections: Mamata Banerjee to campaign for Akhilesh Yadav-led SP

Kolkata, Jan 18: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will campaign for Samajwadi Party in the forthcoming assembly election in Uttar Pradesh and her party - the Trinamool Congress will not contest the poll, SP vice-president Kiranmay Nanda said on Tuesday.

Photo Credit: PTI

"The Trinamool Congress will not contest in Uttar Pradesh and will support Samajwadi Party in the fight against the BJP. Mamata Banerjee will hold virtual campaigns along with SP president Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow and Varanasi. She will be in Lucknow on February 8 and attend a virtual campaign. She will then will hold a joint press conference with Akhileshji," PTI quotes Nanda as saying.

The West Bengal Chief Minister will visit Varanasi in February, but the date has not been finalised,
Nanda, who returned from poll-bound Uttar Pradesh on Monday, said after an hour-long meeting with Banerjee at her residence.

"She will visit Varanasi for a virtual meeting," Nanda said and noted that most of the campaigns are being held virtually due to COVID restrictions. The election to all 403 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases from February 10 to March 7.

"Mamata Banerjee is a strong leader 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. Her fight was unprecedented. The entire nation saw the fight she had put up against BJP's juggernaut," he said.

It may be recalled that Samajwadi Party had extended its support to Mamata Banerjee during the West Bengal assembly election last year. PTI