English
Lucknow, March 18: Putting an end to all the suspense and speculation on Saturday, the Bharatiya Janata Party announced five-time Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath as the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister-designate while the state BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya and Lucknow Mayor Dinesh Sharma will be Deputy Chief Ministers. The announcement took everyone by surprise as MoS Railways and Telecom Manoj Sinha’s name was doing the rounds for the Chief Ministerial post in the state. Yogi Adityanath will take oath as the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister on Sunday at 2:30 pm in Lucknow, said Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu.
In a historic mandate, the Bharatiya Janata Party won over 300 seats out of 403 in the recently concluded Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections 2017, dethroning the Samajwadi Party in the state. There had been suspense over the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister since the BJP won the Uttar Pradesh elections on March 11.
Many names including those of Home Minister Rajnath Singh, MoS Railways and Telecom Manoj Sinha, UP BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya and Lucknow Mayor Dinesh Sharma were reported to be in the running for the UP CM post. Reports had in fact stated that it was almost final that Manoj Sinha would be BJP’s choice for the UP Chief Minister’s post. Sinha added substance to speculations when he offered prayers at Varanasi temples this morning. However, Sinha returned to Delhi from Varanasi and did not attend the BJP Legislative Party meeting in Lucknow. It is then that it became a close contest between Keshav Prasad Maurya and Yogi Adityanath. According to reports, Yogi Adityanath, along with other BJP leaders Bhupendra Yadav, Om Mathur, Keshav Prasad Maurya and Sunil Bansal had a separate meeting ahead of the BJP MLAs meet on Saturday. It was only after the BJP Legislative Party meeting that it the big surprising declaration of Yogi Adityanath as the CM-designate came.
Coming from a Rajput family, Yogi Adityanath has represented Gorakhpur in the Lok Sabha since 1998. His original name was Ajay Singh and was later changed to Yogi Adityanath. He has been elected as an MP from the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat in 1998, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014. A graduate in Mathematics from HNB Garhwal University, he is the Mahant or head priest of the Gorakhnath Mutt in Gorakhpur.
Seen as a leader promoting Hindutva politics, Yogi Adityanath has had a controversial political career so far even though his popularity in Uttar Pradesh continues to grow. From allegedly leading a ‘purity’ drive to convert Christians into Hindus to having differences with the Bharatiya Janata Party, the party leader has been at the centre of controversies.
In 2005, more than 1,500 Christians were reportedly converted to Hindus in Etah in UP and Yogi Adityanath was alleged to be the man behind starting the conversion drive. He had reportedly said, “I will not stop till I turn UP and India into a Hindu rashtra.” Yogi Adityanath is also seen as a driver of the ‘Love Jihad’ campaign.
Among the many criminal cases against Yogi Adityanath are those of rioting, attempt to murder, act endangering life or personal safety of others (IPC Section-336), trespassing on burial places, etc. (IPC Section-297) and criminal intimidation (IPC Section-506).
Fearless and vocal, Yogi Adityanath, also known as a firebrand leader, has been known for his fiery speeches on Hindutva. Among the many instances, in 2007, he was jailed under Section 151A, Sections 146, 147, 279, 506 of the Indian Penal Code after he made a speech following the death of a Hindu youth Raj Kumar Agrahari in Gorakhpur. In 2004, an FIR was filed against him for a hate speech he delivered in Noida. He had been in the news for comparing Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan with Pakistani terrorist Hafiz Saeed when the actor spoke about intolerance.
With Ram Temple emerging as one of the issues in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, it remains to be seen what Yogi Adityanath brings to the state as the Chief Minister. Yogi Adityanath’s tenure as the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister will be closely watched by poll pundits. The state has over 18 per cent Muslim population.
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