UP, Uttarakhand victory vindication of Modi’s governance: Shah

New Delhi, March 11 : After his party’s resounding victory in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Bharatiya Janata Party national president Amit Shah claimed on Saturday that the elections proved that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the most popular leader India had since independence.
Addressing a press briefing on Saturday as results indicated a clean sweep in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Shah thanked voters in all five states and claimed that his victory was an “apt reply” to those questioning the Prime Minister’s policies.
“The UP elections mark as a new chapter in the Indian politics wherein performance becomes the only criteria in election,” he claimed, adding that the results increased the party’s responsibilities but promised to deliver on their promises.
He made a special mention of BJP’s performance in Gandhi bastions of Amethi — where Congress party’s Ameeta Singh lost to Garima Singh (BJP), the first wife of Congress leader Sanjay Sinh — and Rae Bareli, he claimed the results were the beginning of a “new era in politics”.
BJP’s parliamentary board is scheduled to meet on Sunday to decide the party’s chief ministers in the four states.
Shah also promised that the central government would waive farmer loans in the first Cabinet meeting.
Shah said that the BJP would set up a committee to strengthen the party in Punjab.
He however refused to respond to Mayawati’s allegations of the elections being rigged.
Manipur and Goa still remain close contests, although Shah said he was confident of a BJP government in the latter.