Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday called upon all to support Samajwadi Party in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections.
Banerjee who on Monday left for Lucknow to campaign for SP said that she was going to that State because she was invited by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.
“Akhilesh Yadav has invited me to go there and to campaign for SP... We want BJP to be defeated and Akhilesh to win in Uttar Pradesh," Banerjee said calling upon all to back the SP.
"It would have been good for us to contest in UP ... But then we thought that would lead to division of votes ... So we decided to support Akhilesh ji in his fight against the BJP," the Bengal Chief Minister said before leaving for Lucknow.
She will be holding a joint press conference with the SP chief and a virtual rally at UP capital on February 8, TMC sources said.
Banerjee was also likely to visit Varanasi later in February but the date is yet to be fixed, party sources said.
Reacting to Banerjee's UP visit Bengal Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari said her Lucknow trip would yield no result as "the people will vote for Yogi Baba (UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath) because he has brought back Ram ji to Ayodhya ... He has revived Kashi Vishwanath and will revive Mathura too."
Meanwhile in an unrelated development the Bengal Chief Minister set all controversies regarding distribution of tickets --- among Trinamool Congress supporters --- for coming civic elections.
"The party endorses the list published and signed by our designated leaders ... That should clear all confusions," Banerjee said.
A large section of TMC rank and file had revolted after the publication of candidates' list with hundreds of supporters staging dharnas and blockading streets in almost districts from Nort Bengal to South Bengal.