West Bengal CM Mamata thanks people for civic poll triumph, says TMC skipped UP contest in ‘larger interest’

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

The TMC 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 b visiting UP on March 3 again to hold a rally in Varanasi. Slamming the Congress, with which the TMC had not been on friendly terms of late, Banerjee claims 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 TMC 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.