Yogi Adityanath made history on Friday after taking oath as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister for the second term in office after completing a full five-year first term, a feat none of his predecessors has been able to achieve.
A monk-politician Yogi Adiyanath was a surprise choice when BJP won the 2017 assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh. A five-time Lok Sabha MP, he was picked for the key role in the electorally crucial state by the BJP leadership and has strived to live up to expectations from him.
Yogi Adityanath gave a strong government in the past five years with improvement in the law and order situation in the state emerging a strong poll theme for BJP during electioneering for the assembly polls.
Born on June 5, 1972, in a village in Uttarakhand, he was named Ajay Singh Bisht by his parents. He left home to join the movement for the construction of Ram Temple and became a disciple of Mahant Avaidyanath of Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur. He commenced his political journey in 1998 becoming the youngest MP from Gorakhpur.
The results of assembly polls declared earlier this month have enhanced his image as a mass leader who has his ear to the ground and understands the electoral arithmetic of the state that has complex caste equations.
Yogi Adityanath made headlines with his action against crime syndicates and his sprucing up law and order gave a sense of reassurance to the common man.
The BJP-led government in the state worked for efficient delivery of welfare measures while it tackled challenges posed by COVID-19.His government worked towards tackling Japanese Encephalitis and improving the road network and power situation in the state. It banned illegal slaughterhouses and brought a bill against forced religious conversion.
In an interview, Yogi Adiyanath said that his Hindutva favours 'sabka saath, sabka vikas'.The BJP successfully dealt with the combined challenge of the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The 'double engine' government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath has taken several initiatives for faster development of Uttar Pradesh and a defence corridor and a major international airport is coming up in the state.
During the electoral campaign for the Uttar Pradesh elections, the Prime Minister lauded Yogi Adiyanath's work and his coinage- "UP plus Yogi bahut hai upyogi" (UP plus Yogi is very useful) became quite popular.
Yogi Adityanath chose to contest the assembly polls and won the Gorakhpur Sadar seat by a huge margin. The BJP has created other records with its successive victory in Uttar Pradesh.
It is the first time that a party has returned to power in successive polls after 37 years. The BJP won 255 seats in Uttar Pradesh with its allies in the state also registering impressive performance. The chief minister is expected to carry the momentum of the party's electoral victory to fulfill the poll promises and give a further push for the development of the state in his second term.
