Yogi Adityanath, this name encapsulates a spiritual ascetic, an astute politician, fiery orator, reformer, pro-development administrator, dedicated CM and a nationalist. The incumbent CM of Uttar Pradesh has sparked a hope of a better, crime free and developed Uttar Pradesh. On the occasion of his birthday here are three incidences which shaped this iron man:
How Ajay Singh Bisht became Mahant Yogi Adityanath
Shantanu Gupta, in his book titled ‘The Monk Who Became Chief Minister’ (Published by Bloomsbury), has written about the journey of Yogi Adityanath and how, from Ajay Singh Bisht, he became Yogi Adityanath. Ajay Singh Bisht was pursuing Masters of Science (MSc) in Mathematics in Rishikesh but but mainly because his interest towards ‘Ram Janambhoomi Movement’ he left his studies. In 1993 when the movement was at its zenith, Ajay Singh Bisht went for a visit to Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur. There he got the chance to meet Mahant Avaidyanath once again. Earlier, he had a short interaction with Mahant Avaidyanath in 1990 when Avaidyanath Ji was on his India expedition for the ‘Ram Janmbhoomi’ movement. Ajay Singh was very much influenced by the Mahant Avaidyanath Ji. This time Ajay shared his story with Avaidyanath ji. Mahant Avaidyanath told Ajay Bisht that he is destined to become a Yogi. In 1993, Ajay again went to Gorakhpur, this time Mahant Avaidyanath Ji asked him to join Gorakhnath temple as full time disciple. Ajay returned with no clear-cut thought on the request. In November 1993, Ajay left his village without telling anyone and went to Gorakhpur. On the auspicious occasion of ‘Basant Panchami’, on 15 February 1994, Mahant Avaidyanath Ji appointed Ajay as a Nath Panth Yogi. Thus became the journey of Ajay Singh Bisht aka Yogi Adityanath which will ultimately lead to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister’s chair. Later on, he became the successor of Avaidyanath as the Mahant of Gorakhnath Mutt, the oldest Mutt of Nath Panth. On 12 September 2014 after the demise of Mahant Avaidyanath, Yogi Adityanath became the Peethadeesh (head priest) of Gorakhnath temple.
Yogi Adityanath wins the Gorakhpur election for the first time
For the first time in 1998, Yogi Adityanath was elected as the Member of Parliament from Gorakhpur constituency. At the age of 26, he became MP, youngest legislator at that time. He succeeded Mahant Avaidyanath who had chosen his disciple to succeed him on the Lok Sabha constituency of Gorakhpur. With continuous public support and adulation of the masses, he continued to win the constituency again and again with huge victory margin. In 2014, he won by a huge margin of 1, 42,309 votes. He proved to be as diligent in discharging his administrative duties as he was diligent as a Yogi. He actively used to take part in Parliament discussions and proceedings, used to raise the issues related to the welfare of the people of not just his constituency but that of the populace of entire Uttar Pradesh. As a MP, he used to spend most of his MP fund allotted to him in the development of his constituency. After the Modi government came to power, Yogi Adityanath successfully lobbied for a branch of AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) to be set up in his constituency. He and his constituency faced much discrimination when the UPA government was in power. Since Modi government has come to power development projects worth thousands of crores have been undertaken to develop Gorakhpur and its adjoining districts.
Appointed as Chief Minister of the largest state of India (population wise)
After the BJP’s massive victory in UP, the BJP leadership selected Yogi Adityanath to lead the state. Yogi Adityanath played a huge role in securing BJP’s victory during the UP election. He campaigned extensively in all the parts of Uttar Pradesh. He worked really hard and finally got the fruits of years of hardwork and devotion to the public service by getting anointed as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Since his tenure began as Chief Minister, he is working round the clock to clean the Uttar Pradesh, both literally and figuratively. He initiated large scale development and infrastructure projects like Defence Industrial Corridor, Poorvanchal Expressway, Bundelkhand Expressway, India’s longest elevated road in Ghaziabad, massive rail expansion in Varanasi and Gazipur, organized UP investor’s summit in which 5,000 businessmen from all over the globe participated and MOUs worth Rs 4.26 lakh crore signed on the very first day, waived loans of farmers, went after wheat mafia, and launched many development projects to develop eastern UP which had been hitherto neglected. Since he came to power development projects took priority. Flyovers, ringroads, water connection, electrification etc are all in full swing with rapid speed. Another crowning jewel of his administration so far has been the anti-crime drive. Encounters of criminals in UP is at its peak. Since the advent of the Yogi Government, the UP Police have killed 50 criminals in over 1,400 encounters. According to the official data, there have been over 1,478 police encounters in the state between 20 March 2017 and 25 March 2018. The highest number of encounters happened in Meerut Zone, 569. Bareilly zone is the next one with 253 encounters. Next one in the queue is the Agra zone where 241 encounters took place followed by Kanpur zone with 112 encounters. In CM Yogi’s Gorakhpur district 51 encounters took place. According to the officials “The police have invoked the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against 188 criminals and seized assets worth over Rs 150 crore. The Gangster’s Act was imposed on 1,455 persons and 4,881 criminals arrested. Not just development and law order but special emphasis has been laid on improving the education system of the state. He came down heavily upon the education mafia of the state, especially the problem of cheating in board examinations. After Yogi Adityanath’s massive crackdown on cheating in exams, around 45,000 students did not appear for the exam . Over 5000 Madrassas shut shop after the UP government had ordered them to register themselves on an online portal to enable the government to monitor them efficiently. In order to reform and modernize education, CM Yogi introduced NCERT syllabus in Madrassas.
His tenure is not even two years old and under his administration UP has taken several leapfrogs in development, attracting industry, improving law and order, education, healthcare etc. He is setting up new precedence for others to follow. His popularity has extended beyond UP, his magic worked in Tripura and Karnataka election as well. His popularity is only increasing with each passing day. Under his leadership, Uttar Pradesh is heading towards becoming Uttam Pradesh.