After most exit polls gave the BJP the edge in the Uttar Pradesh elections, Keshav Prasad Maurya, the party chief in the state, said if the BJP emerged victorious on March 11, the entire credit for it would go to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Said Maurya to THE WEEK, “I feel happy to know that all the exit polls have given us good numbers. The entire credit for the victory will go to Narendra Modi, who was ably supported by Amit Shah, senior Union ministers and all the party workers of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.”
Maurya blamed the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party for the sad state of affairs in UP and said the BJP would bring development in the state. “Both the SP and the BSP have not done anything for development of UP. They have only taken the state backwards. Now, the BJP will usher in development in the state and work for the welfare of the people."
When asked whether he would be the next chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, said Maurya, "Let us wait till March 11. Once we win, our MLAs and the party’s parliamentary board will take the final call. I am happy with any responsibility the party gives me."
Born in Allahabad, Maurya, 47, is an OBC leader and has been associated with the RSS and the VHP from an early age. He is the Lok Sabha member from Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh.
Maurya’s life has an uncanny similarity to that of PM Modi. Both, as young men from poor families, helped their fathers sell tea.
The Allahabad district court on March 6 absolved Maurya of charges of damaging the office of the additional district magistrate of Allahabad during a protest march in 1998.
