Adityanath is known for his hardline Hindutva ideology and making anti-Muslim statements. He is popular among his supporters for his fiery speeches against minorities.

The chief minister-designate also runs an extremist organisation, Hindu Yuva Vahini, which has been accused of instigating communal tension, said The Hindu [see below].

He describes himself as a “religious missionary and social worker” on his Lok Sabha profile.

During the recent elections in the highly-polarised state, he had stirred controversy by making claims of discrimination against Hindus and stoked anti-Muslim sentiments.

He had alleged discrimination in the supply of power to Hindu and Muslim festivals and also in the allocation of land for graveyards and crematoriums.

Adityanath has also been accused of spearheading a forced conversion initiative, called Ghar Wapsi, which targeted Muslims and Christians.

During the recent deterioration of relations between India and Pakistan, he passed statements against Bollywood actors who supported the continuation of cultural ties between the two countries [2].

“Shah Rukh Khan should remember that if people would boycott his films, he would also have to wander in the streets like a normal Muslim … These people are speaking in the language of terrorists. I think there is no difference between the language of Shah Rukh Khan and Hafiz Saeed,” he was quoted as saying.

The chief minister-designate will be sworn in on Sunday, according to Indian media.

The BJP won a three-fourths majority in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and is returning to power after 14 years.

Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state of India, with a population of more than 200 million. Muslims form around 19pc of the population.

DAWN.COM

* “Hindu ’radical’ nominated chief minister of India’s most populous state”. DAWN.COM MAR 18, 2017 09:14PM:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1321292/hindu-radical-nominated-chief-minister-of-indias-most-populous-state

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 Who is Yogi Adityanath?

Yogi Adityanath, whose real name is Ajay Singh Bisht, is a five-time BJP MP from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. He is 44 years old.

A Thakur from Uttarakhand by birth, Adityanath earned a graduate degree in Science from Garhwal University in Srinagar.

His Lok Sabha profile says he is a “religious missionary and social worker.”

Awaidhnath, Mahant of the powerful and wealthy Gorakhnath Temple who had won Gorakhpur thrice consecutively, passed on both his political and religious legacy to Adityanath. Awaidhnath died in 2014.

Adityanath runs the Hindu Yuva Vahini in Purvanchal, an outfit that has been often accused of instigating communal tension.

This Bajrang Dal-style organisation is particularly effective in the east U.P. districts of Deoria, Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar and Siddharthnagar. Here, its activists have been accused of converting minor incidents into communal conflagrations.

However during these elections, the Hindu Yuva Vahini broke after some of its members refused to retire some of their candidates. Adityanath expelled some of them.

During the recent elections, the BJP leadership for the first time deployed Adityanath extensively in western U.P. after the first phase.

* THE HINDU. UPDATED: MARCH 18, 2017 19:22 IST. Internet Desk MARCH 18, 2017 19:14 IST
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/who-is-yogi-adityanath/article17528359.ece

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 Who is Yogi Adityanath? MP, head of Gorakhnath temple and a political rabble-rouser

Yogi Adityanath, a firebrand BJP leader and a five-time MP from Gorakhpur, was named on Saturday as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, exacly a week after the party took control of the state with a brute majority.

HT traces his life and career as one of the most polarising political figures in India.

The beginning of political innings: It was in the year 1998 when Yogi Adityanath entered the political arena after leaving his ancestral home at Pancher village in Pauri Garhwal where he was born on June 5, 1972. He was born Ajay Mohan Bisht but later changed his name after his indoctrination into the Nath sect.

The year saw former BJP MP Mahant Avidyanath, a key leader of 90’s Ram Temple movement, passing his baton to Yogi Adityanath who emerged as a controversial Hindu leader known for hate speeches.

A B.Sc graduate (1993) from Garhwal University in Uttrakhand, Yogi made his Parliament debut after winning the election in 1998 from Gorakhpur. He continued to win the seat for five times with large margins, except in 2004 when the Samajwadi Party’s Jamuna Nishad gave him tough fight. He won by just 5,000 votes.

Chief priest of Gorakhnath temple: Adityanath received deeksha (teachings) of the Nath sect at the Gorakhnath temple in February, 1994. As per the sect’s traditions, his ears were pierced amid rituals associated with the temple. He addressed Mahant Avidyanath, his maternal uncle, as Guruji. Yogi Adityanath took over as chief priest of Gorakhnath temple after Mahant Avidyanath passed away in 2014.

Major controversies/criminal cases: Adityanath’s radical pro-Hindutva image came to the fore for the first in February 1999, when he allegedly tried to capture a graveyard land by planting a peepal tree at Panch Rukhiya village in Maharajganj district. A case under several sections was registered against him in the Kotwali police station.

In 2007, just before the assembly elections, Adityanath had to spend 15 days in jail when he was booked for inciting riots in Gorakhpur and adjoining areas which saw the killing of a Muslim youth. Riots broke out after a provocative speech by Adityanath following the killing of a Hindu youth in January. He was booked again by police. He is still facing trial in the two cases.

Abdul Jadid
Hindustan Times, Lucknow

* Hindustan Times:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/assembly-elections/who-is-yogi-adityanath-mp-head-of-gorakhnath-temple-and-a-political-rabble-rouser/story-tTAP7eBbg5nrTU93NLLZbO.html

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