BJP anoints Yogi Adityanath as UP CM

 

Pi Bureau :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following landslide victory in 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly poll, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today anointed Gorakhpur Member of Parliament (MP) Yogi Adiyanath as the new chief minister of India’s largest state.

 

Two senior party leaders Lucknow Mayor Dinesh Sharma and UP BJP president Keshav Prasad Maurya were also anointed as deputy CMs in UP. The decision was taken at the newly constituted BJP legislative party meeting here this evening, in the presence of senior central leaders viz. Bhupendra Yadav, Venkaiah Naidu and Om Mathur.

 

His choice for the top post clearly indicates that BJP is unstinted in its agenda to pursue soft Hindutva line to cobble up a formidable majority vote bank cutting across caste lines. Besides, the two deputy CMs belonging to the Brahmin and backward community would balance the caste equation for the party.

 

Interestingly, none of the three leaders are members of the UP assembly and would have the time to get elected to either of the two UP legislative houses in the state in the next six months.

 

Yogi’s real name is Ajay Singh Bisht and he originally hails from PauriGarhwal district of Uttarkhand. He had received his early education in the hill state, before arriving in Gorakhpur.

 

Meanwhile, deputy CM designate Dinesh Sharma is the BJP national vice president and in charge of party affairs in Gujarat. He is serving his second term as the Mayor of Lucknow and is reckoned for his genteel conduct. He enjoys good rapport among the minority community as well.

 

Maurya, who is a backward community leader, rose from the ranks and was earlier associated with RSS affiliate Vishwa Hindu Parisahd (VHP). He was close to late VHP president Ashok Singhal. Before getting elected to the Lok Sabha in 2014, Maurya was a member of the UP legislative assembly.