West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited Lucknow to campaign for SP candidates. While addressing the people of Lucknow, she said "I want Samajwadi Party to win in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. If people support him, then there is a chance of Akhilesh Ji winning in this election."
Earlier, it was reported that Akhilesh wants Mamata to do a virtual campaign for SP, he also send Emissary to Bengal. Akhilesh had sent Samajwadi Party national vice president Kiranmay Nanda to Kolkata for a meeting. Nanda said, “Mamata Banerjee is undoubtedly one of the tallest leaders today. She is a strong political force against the BJP. The way she battled back to power in Bengal is commendable. The entire country saw how she fought against the BJP and showed them the door. Therefore, we want her to campaign for us virtually for the UP elections. Due to Covid-19 restrictions and as per our initial plan, we are opting for a virtual political campaign. Tomorrow I am meeting her and everything will be finalized soon.”
On being asked why people of Uttar Pradesh will listen to Mamata Banerjee, she said “Why not? She is a strong leader and she is very popular nationally. She silenced everyone with her thumping majority in Bengal. You must have noticed how a large number of people are turning up at Akhilesh Yadav’s ji rallies and, on the other side, chairs are empty in BJP rallies in UP. We personally felt that she can add momentum to our campaign.”
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India announced the voting dates for the Assembly polls of Uttar Pradesh. The UP will hold elections in 7 phases to elect 403 members of the Legislative Assembly in the state. The seven-phase election in Uttar Pradesh will be held on February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27, and March 3 and 7.