Trinamul Congress on Monday inducted Congress leaders from Uttar Pradesh, after similar exercises in Tripura, Assam and Goa, with Mamata Banerjee underscoring her party’s ultimate objective of ousting the BJP from the Centre.

In Siliguri, Rajeshpati Tripathi and Laliteshpati Tripathi — grandson and great-grandson, respectively, of deceased Congress stalwart Kamalapati Tripathi of Uttar Pradesh — joined Trinamul in the presence of the Bengal chief minister and her heir-apparent Abhishek Banerjee.

“Some people mock our party as a regional political force but let me assert that Trinamul is a national party. We have initiated political activities in Tripura and Goa and now, we have Congress leaders from Uttar Pradesh joining us,” Mamata told journalists outside Uttarkanya.

Mamata said the Tripathis would now draw up a plan for her to visit Varanasi.

“Wherever we are going, we are going with the purpose of strengthening our organisation before the Lok Sabha polls (of 2024)…. If we can run Bengal, we can also run Delhi.”