Having humbled the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in West Bengal state polls earlier this year, the Trinamool Congress party has now decided to join hands with the main opposition party of Uttar Pradesh -- Samajwadi Party.
The political alliance will aim to ensure the defeat of the State's ruling BJP.
Neeraj Rai, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) Uttar Pradesh state unit president, told Sputnik that in order to provide a better option to the people of the state, they have decided to support the Samajwadi Party (SP).
"Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee shares a good relationship with SP head Akhilesh Yadav and other leaders of the party. Therefore, both the parties will be going to polls with a common goal. Apart from this, the move is part of their plan to remove the BJP from the Centre in 2024 General Elections,” he said.
An official statement regarding the alliance with the SP in the State, Rai said, would be made most probably next month.
Asked about the TMC support base in Uttar Pradesh, he said: “I believe that the people vote for those who fight for them. In the West Bengal elections, the TMC proved that we had better welfare schemes for the people as compared to the BJP government in any State or even in the Centre. So, we will be taking up the issues of the people of the state.”
He also said that the central leadership of both the parties -- TMC and SP -- will decide on the seat distribution during the polls. “As of now, we are working on the grassroot level, raising the concerns of the people.”
Uttar Pradesh state polls are likely to be held in February-March in 2022.