Why Mamata skipped the battle in UP

New Delhi, Feb 14: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday thanked people for casting their votes in favour of the Trinamool, which is set to register a big win in four municipal corporations, where elections were held on February 12, PTI reported.

Ms Banerjee also said that the state administration would continue working for the cause of common people.

The Trinamool supremo, who had visited Uttar Pradesh last week to campaign for Samajwadi Party (SP), contended that her camp decided against contesting elections in that state in "the larger interest".

"The TMC did not field any candidate in UP as I did not want Akhilesh Yadav (SP chief) to get weak in any seat. In the first phase, I am hoping Akhilesh's party will win 37 of 57 seats," she told reporters.

The chief minister also said that she would be visiting UP on March 3 again to hold a rally in Varanasi.

Slamming the Congress, with which the Trinamool had not been on friendly terms of late, Ms Banerjee claimed that no regional outfit share cordial relations with the grand old party.

"The Congress can go its way, we will go ours," she said.

Alleging that the country's Constitution has been "demolished" by the BJP-led Centre, the feisty Trinamool boss said she had spoken to Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin and her Telangana counterpart KCR, and together "we are trying to protect the federal structure".

"I had asked the Congress and the CPI(M), too, to join hands in greater interest, but if they do not listen there is nothing that I can do. I don't have any personal grudge against anybody," she added.