West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee will address a rally organised by TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, in Vizag tomorrow.
Aam Admi Party and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, National Conference chief and former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav are among the other top national leaders campaigning for Naidu for the coming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state. This is also an extension of the show of strength and unity among the Opposition parties that started with a similar coming together of the senior leaders at a rally in Kolkata on January 19 this year. A similar rally was earlier held in Delhi as well.
The Lok Sabha elections start from April 11 and will continue till May 19, with counting scheduled on May 23. Andhra Pradesh will vote in one phase on April 11, while West Bengal has elections scheduled in seven phases.
Once the Vizag meeting is over, Banerjee will concentrate on election campaigns in different parts of Bengal. The Bengal poll campaign for the Trinamool chief will begin on April 4. Banerjee and her party has lined up a hundred meetings in various parts of Bengal for her – that will continue right up to May 17, the last date when campaigning is allowed for the Lok Sabha polls. According to party insiders, Banerjee has targeted at least two major campaigns for every Lok Sabha seat.
Other than in Bengal, and following Vizag, Banerjee will also campaign outside the state – six of these will be in Assam, three in Jharkhand, two in Bihar and one in Andaman.
The Trinamool Congress chief will also be part of some public meetings organised by other political parties that are part of the Opposition’s mahagathbandhan. Beyond the public meetings, there are also talks of organising a few over mobile phone.
