Displaying a special bond, accompanied by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday filed his nomination papers as a BJP candidate from Gorakhpur Urban Assembly constituency.
This will be for the first time when Yogi Adityanath will be contesting the assembly elections. Five years back, in 2017, Radha Mohan Das Agrawal of BJP had won the seat by defeating
Rana Rahul Singh of Congress by a margin of 60,730 votes.
Gorakhpur Urban Assembly constituency falls under Gorakhpur parliamentary constituency, a known bastion of Yogi. In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP nominee Ravi Kishan had humbled his nearest Samajwadi Party rival Rambhual Nishad to retain the seat for the saffron party. Yogi has won the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat five times in a row -1998, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014.
The first two phases of polls in UP are on Feb 10 and Feb 14. These will set the tone.
In Phase 1, elections are in the Jat or the agrarian belt. In Phase 2, polling will be held on Feb 14 in segments like Rampur and Moradabad where Muslims make up 50 per cent voters.
The road to the throne in New Delhi in 2024 will be perhaps also decided largely by the outcome of what happens in five states and especially on who really rules in Lucknow.
Observers say in choosing Yogi Adityanath, who presumably follows an ascetic lifestyle based on yoga, five years back, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP central leadership authorized him to anchor BJP’s show in Uttar Pradesh and also gave a new generation of leadership.
The saffron-clad Adityanath, born Ajay Singh Bisht in 1972, is 50-years-old, 22-years younger than PM Modi.
Yogi Adityanath is also the mahant or head priest of the Gorakhnath Math. Of course, Yogi has an image of a strong pro-Hindutva leader.
In the past, he has also lauded U.S. President Donald Trump’s radical views on Muslims and said India can emulate such a stance against Muslims to fight terrorism.
He has also criticised Mother Teresa and accused her of converting needy Hindus to Christianity.
