Yogi Adityanath is Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister: 10 things to know about BJP’s Hindutva CM for UP

Yogi Adityanath the BJP firebrand leader from Poorvanchal, is known for his blunt comments. He has been a 5 time PM from Gorakhpur.

Written by: Shubhang Chauhan

Updated: March 19, 2017, 12:38 AM IST

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https://www.india.com/news/india/yogi-adityanath-is-uttar-pradesh-chief-minister-10-things-to-know-about-bjps-hindutva-cm-for-up-1938261/ Copy

Lucknow, March 18: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stunned political observers across the nation by announcing its far-right leader Yogi Adityanath as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Adityanath was evidently trailing the race for CM chair till early Saturday, with names of Rajnath Singh, Manoj Sinha and Keshav Prasad Maurya doing the rounds.

Adityanath, a BJP firebrand leader, is known for his outrageous comments against the Muslims. The 44-year-old has been a 5 time MP from Gorakhpur. On March 15, supporters of Yogi Adityanath performed ‘havan’ in Varanasi praying for him to be the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

10 things to know about Yogi Adityanath:

1. At the age of 26, he became the youngest member to be elected to the 12th Lok Sabha. He has been re-elected ever since, currently serving as the five-time MP from Gorakhpur.
2. In, 1999-2000 he was a member of  Committee on Food, Civil Supplies and Public Distribution; Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Home Affairs under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government. In 2004, he was re-elected to 14th Lok Sabha for the third term. In 2009, for the 15th Lok Sabha.
3. Adityanath was born in Garhwal region of Uttarakhand in 1972. His real name is Ajay Singh.
4. In terms of education, Adityanath completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Science from H.N.B. Garhwal University.
5. Unlike is his party, he kept reiterating that if BJP comes to Lucknow then Ram Mandir will be a top agenda on their list.
6. He has been a very controversial leader and had made two controversial statements: one on Yoga and the other one on Shahrukh Khan.  On Yoga, he had said that those who oppose it can leave India. He had compared Shah Rukh Khan to Pakistani terrorist Hafiz Saeed and asked him to go to Pakistan.
7. In 2005, Adityanath allegedly led a ‘purification’ drive for conversion of Christians to Hinduism.
8. Adityanath heads the 15-year-old Hindu Yuva Vahini, an outfit like Bajrang Dal.
9. On January 31, 2016, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Yogi Adityanath raised the issue of alleged exodus of Hindus from Kairana while addressing a rally in UP. Yogi Adityanath, who is known for making inflammatory remarks against Muslims, said what happened to Hindus in Kashmir in 1990’s is happening again in western Uttar Pradesh.
10. Earlier, Yogi had said that  ‘Ghar Vapasi’ programme will continue unless conversions are banned and claimed India’s problem was “vote bank politics fuelled by jihadi fervour”.