Not in the race for chief ministership of UP: Shrikant Sharma

BJP leader Shrikant Sharma today said he is not in the race for UP chief ministership but will "not run away" if the the party entrusts him with any responsibility.
Sharma today trounced his nearest rival, leader of Congress Parliamentary party Pradeep Mathur, by a record margin of over one lakh votes.
"The victory is of Modi-Amit Shah combine, but it signifies the faith that people have developed for the Prime Minister," the national spokesperson of the BJP said when asked to elaborate the factors responsible for the landslide victory of BJP in Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
He said it shows that people were eagerly waiting to get rid of "corruption, bad governance and criminalization".

He said it was thevictory of "development" over "bad governance".
To question whether he was in the race for chief ministership, Sharma said, "No, I am not in the race for chief minister of UP. However, I would not run away from any responsibility that the party leadership would give me."

He also lauded the welfare schemes launched by the Modi government.
"With schemes for pregnant woman, Ujjvala scheme, crop insurance scheme, security of woman, water in every house and 3.5 crore jobs to unemployed etc, people have developed faith that here is a prime minister, who is dedicated for the welfare of the poor," he stated.

"Now youths are bound to get jobs, owing to the conducive and fearless environment that the BJP government would provide in the state. Industrialization in UP would get a boost, thus finally paving the way for employment," he said.
He also gave credit to demonetization for the landslide victory of the party.
He claimed that not only the farmers were happy with increase in minimum support price but even the poorest of poor were finding a ray of hope in Modi after demonetization.
The priorities he has for Mathura include making Yamuna pollution free, include the city in NCR, providing good infrastructure, ensuring round the clock power supply, among others.

Meanwhile, welcoming the mandate, Mathur, who suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Sharma, said, "Modi ki jumlebaji ko janta theek se samajh nahi saki hai (people have misunderstood the claim of Modi).