Kolkata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that Trinamool Congress (TMC) will not contest the Uttar Pradesh elections but will field candidates in the state in the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

Banerjee, who was re-elected as TMC chairperson at a party event on Wednesday, said Trinamool Congress will support Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav in the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

"In Uttar Pradesh, I am not going to contest Assembly polls but I am going to support Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav. We (TMC) will contest from Uttar Pardesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls," she said, reflecting her national ambitions in the next general elections.

Mamata Banerjee urged party workers to strengthen the party unit and said the goal is to win all 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the next polls.

"I have built my unit in Goa. In Tripura, our vote percentage is over 20 per cent. We have to make Bengal stronger in the next two years so that we get all 42 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. We have to chase BJP away," she said.

The TMC chief emphasised unity in the party. "I will hold my first working Committee meeting in Delhi," she said.

She called for an untied fight against the BJP by all regional parties in the 2024 elections.

The Trinamool Congress is seeking to increase its footprint nationally ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.