A joint-fight by the Congress and the Samajwadi Party against the BJP would have been a better option, however, if people vote for Akhilesh then there are chances of him winning (a majority), Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee said in Kolkata before leaving for Lucknow.
“It would have been better to fight together. When nothing’s going to come in (winning of seats is unlikely to happen) then there is no need to take away votes of the other (by a parallel contest). We tried, but were not heard. But Akhilesh ji fights with all passion. He was also the Chief Minister. If people stand with him, he has a chance of winning,” Mamata said.
She also added that the Trinamool will contest Lok Sabha elections in 2024 from Punjab. She had earlier stated the party’s intent to contest the parliamentary elections from Uttar Pradesh.
When asked how significant her visit was as the TMC has already declared its intent of fighting the Lok Sabha elections from UP in 2024, Mamata said, "let the Vidhan Sabha elections take place, first."
She said that her visit is for campaigning for Akhilesh in the elections to constituencies of western UP going to polls in the first two phases.
“Akhilesh ji has invited me. Kiranmoy Nanda (senior Samajwadi leader) had met me at my home and we had a discussion. I want Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi to be victorious… The fight that he has taken up, it’s needed that others stand with him. I want the BJP to lose, and Samajwadi to win for showing UP a direction. For this reason, we aren’t contesting a single seat in the assembly elections. Even then I am going to offer him my moral support,” she added.
Mamata said that she has been urged to visit Varanasi for the last phase, and intends to visit Shiv Mandir. She said that she had visited the city earlier several times but did not get a chance to visit the temple.
When asked about it also being PM Modi’s constituency, Mamata said that each place is some (politician’s) constituency, like Bhabanipur is her constituency. “Similarly, there is a PM’s constituency, but anybody can go anywhere,” she said.
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