Yogi Adityanath has been nominated by BJP as the next Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. The firebrand Hindu leader who is also a member of parliament from Gorakhpur got the nod to lead the government ahead of many potential names. He will be the 32th chief minister of Uttar Pradesh after he takes his oath.
1- Adityanath’s original name is Ajay Singh which he changed to yogi Adityanath after becoming a sanyasi. He has B.Sc. degree from H.N.B. Garhwal University, Srinagar, Uttarakhand.
2- His Philosophical predecessor Mahant Avaidyanath was the President of Hindu Maha Sabha who also followed a hard line hindutva philosophy. Both of them kept Hindutva agenda at the forefront of their election campaign.
3- He once said his mission in life is to convert other religious groups back to Hinduism. In 2005, more than 5,000 people were converted in the town of Etah in UP. He reportedly said: “I will not stop till I turn UP and India into a Hindu rashtra”. Adityanath has often been caught in controversies because of his hardliner stand on Hindutva.
4- He is the founder of the Hindu Yuva Vahini, a social, cultural and nationalist group of young people. This group is very famous amongst Hindus of east Uttar Pradesh with many dalit hindus part of it. After Adityanath’s arrest in 2007 for inciting Gorakhpur riots, his HYV launched retaliations by burning two coaches of the Mumbai bound Mumbai-Gorakhpur Godan Express on 30th January, 2007
5- He has several criminal cases pending against him. Some of the cases are: 3 charges related to rioting (IPC Section-147); 1 charge related to Attempt to murder (IPC Section-307); 2 charges related to Rioting, armed with deadly weapon (IPC Section-148); 1 charges related to Act endangering life or personal safety of others (IPC Section-336); 1 charges related to Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object (IPC Section-149); 2 charges related to Trespassing on burial places, etc. (IPC Section-297); 1 charges related to criminal intimidation (IPC Section-506)
6- In Gorakhpur riots of 2007, a Hindu boy was killed after some people opened fire on a Muslim procession that took place on the occasion of Moharam. When the youth succumbed to the injuries, Adityanath vowed to deliver justice to Hindus. He announced a torchlight procession and a “Shraddhanjali Sabha (pay homage)” on a busy road. The District Magistrate had forbidden him to do so, but regardless of his instructions he and his followers set off. For the first time in his life, Adityanath was jailed under Section 151A of the CRPC only to find later that he has also been booked under Sections 146, 147, 279, 506 of the Indian Penal Code.
7- In March 2010, Adityanath was one of several BJP MPs who did not adhere to the party whip on the Women’s Reservation Bill. He even once said that if a Hindu Girl is converted to Islam, he would make sure that 100 Muslim girls get converted to Hinduism.
8- Despite his prominence in the party, he has never been on good terms with the BJP. He has had a strained relation with the party for more than a decade. In 2007 UP Elections, BJP and Adityanath were at conflict.
9- He raised the issue of Love Jihad during Uttar Pradesh Elections and said, “”I have been raising this issue for the past four to five years. The menace first began in Kerala and has now spread to Western UP”. He said he is not against Hindu-Muslim marriages provided it’s based on mutual trust and there is no element of deceit in that relationship.
Now, We can just hope he turns out to be a decisive leader and sticks to BJP’s philosophy of ” Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas”.
