Yogi Adityanath, a Hindu monk and politician from India, has been the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh since March 19, 2017. Following the Bhartiya Janta party’s victory in the state assembly election, he was appointed to the seat on March 26.

He was a well-known Bhartiya Janta Party politician. His actions and efforts garnered him popularity, which enabled him to win the State Assembly elections of 2022 and again win the position of Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. He spent five consecutive years as a member of the Lok Sabha representing Gorakhpur seats before being elected chief minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1998 to 2017.

Even before entering politics, Adityanath served as the Mahant (Head Priest) of the Hindu monastery Gorakhnath Math in Gorakhpur. In September 2014, upon the passing of his spiritual father Avaidynath, he was appointed mahant of the GorakhNath math. Additionally, he started the influential Hindu Yuva Vahini organization, which advocates for Hindu nationalism. He became known as a fervent supporter of right-wing politics and Hindu nationalism.

Education

He began his education in 1977 at his local Gaja, Tehri, school and finished there in 1987. In 1989, he graduated from Rishikesh’s Sri Bharat Mandir Inter College with a Class X and an intermediate diploma.

He enrolled in college and joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad in 1990. He graduated with a mathematics bachelor’s degree in 1992. However, Yogi Adityanath’s graduation diploma was stolen while residing in Kotdwar, making his attempts to acquire scientific employment in Gorakhpur fruitless. After that, Adityanath applied to a Rishikesh-based institute for a postgraduate program in a scientific subject, but because of the current Ayodhya movement, in which he was actively engaged, he had trouble getting admitted and decided to redirect his attention to the opposition.

Early Life

Ajay Mohan Singh Bisht, also known as Yogi Adityanath, is his true name. In the village of Pauri Garhwal in Uttarakhand, he was born on June 5, 1972. The father of the boy was a forest ranger named Anand Singh Bisht. His tutor was Mahant Avaidyanath, who he accepted into the Ayodhya Ram temple campaign. Received the moniker “Yogi Adityanath” and took over as the movement’s main representative for the Ram temple at the time, replacing Mahant Avaidyanath.

Yogi Adityanath was designated as Mahant Avaidyanath’s heir in 1994, after which he was appointed the head priest of Gorakhnath Math. He oversaw the Gorakhnath charity trust, medical facilities, and educational system at the time. Gorakhnath Math chose him to be its leader.

Following Avaidyantah’s passing on September 12, 2014, Adityanath appointed as Gorakhnath Math Mahant. The Nath sect’s rituals gave him the designation Peethadhishwar (Head Seer) of the Math.

Experience in Politics

In 1994, Gorakhnath Maths hired Yogi Adityanath as its leader. In the Lower House of the Indian Parliament, he was elected after four years as an MP. As a member of the 12^th Lok Sabha, he was the youngest. Voters in Gorakhpur have endorsed him to represent them in Parliament for the last five years. He also founded the young people’s organization Hindu Yuva Vahini. Yogi Adityanath’s swift ascent and subsequent political triumph were made possible by Hindu Yuva Vahini.

The same year Avaidyanath joined the Bhartiya Janta Party, the Sangh Parivar came together in an Ayodhya movement. Nonetheless, Avaidyanth has always maintained its independence, and the BJP leadership has frequently quarreled with it over the distribution of electoral tickets. After being chosen as Avaidyanath’s successor for four years, Adityanath was chosen as a candidate for the Lower House of the Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha).

Over the distribution of electoral tickets, there have been many disagreements between Adityanath and the BJP leadership. The Bhartiya Janta party, however, prevents the tensions from escalating because he has been a standout party supporter during the election campaign.

To run for office and take on his rival, Yogi Adityanath established connections between the Indian Leftist parties and the Nepali Maoists in 2006. He used this as a major campaign issue. His convoy came under attack in 2008 while traveling to Azamgarh for a rally against terrorism. One person was killed in the incident, while at least six others were hurt.

Yogi Adityanath was arrested in 2007 and imprisoned in Gorakhpur on charges of disturbing the peace and defying court orders. The day after his detention, the district magistrate and the neighborhood police chief were swapped out, because of disturbances caused by Adityanath’s detention, numerous coaches on the Mumbai-Gorakhpur Godan Express were set ablaze by Hindu Yuva Vahini activists.

BJP-Related Relationships

Adityanath has a tense history with the BJP and has criticized it for having a weak Hindutva philosophy. He rebelled by picking opponents to the official BJP candidates. The most well-known instance was the 2002 election of Radha Mohan Das Agarwal to the Hindu Mahasabha, in which the Bhartiya Janta party lost that seat.

A three-day Virat Hindu Mahasammelan was organized in Gorakhpur by Adityanath in 2006 during the BJP National Executive Meeting in Lucknow. Despite frequent uprisings and controversy, he has received visits from L. K. Advani, the RSS chairman, and VHP chairman.

In the 2017 elections for the Uttar Pradesh legislature, Adityanath was a significant BJP campaigner. He breached party rules in 2010 on the representation of women in Parliament. He was one of many BJP lawmakers who defied party directives regarding the women’s reservation bill. He was a well-known BJP campaigner in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, which aided the Bhartiya Janta party’s victory.

He won the 2017 election for Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. He quickly made smoking, using a pan, and using gutka inside state premises illegal. He also established Anti-Romeo squads throughout the state. Furthermore, more than 100 dishonest police officers were fired.

Ministry Budgeting

Adityanath oversaw over 36 departments after being elected chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, including the home ministry, the ministry of housing, and the ministries of the township and rural planning. At his first cabinet meeting, which took place on April 4, he decided to forgive small farmer debts in 2017. The Indian national song is required for students attending a madrasa, a Muslim religious school.

Security and Law

Adityanath created a “Romeo Squad”. Over 100 “Black Sheep” police officers were demoted or suspended from the Uttar Pradesh police. Approximately 20,000 “politically motivated” lawsuits, including those brought against him and other government officials, were ordered to be dismissed by his administration. He ordered the closure of various slaughterhouses and enacted strict regulations against cattle smuggling. Also instructed to close were several tanneries. Paan, gutka, and cigarettes were outlawed in all state government buildings, and staff members were mandated to spend 100 hours annually on the Swachh Bharat Mission.

Development of Infrastructure

The largest smartphone manufacturing factory in the world was opened by Adityanath, the Indian Prime Minister and the President of South Korea, in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, in July 2018. His government was recognized for establishing a 22-kilometer-long energy link and providing 50 MW of energy for the Samsung mobile network facility in a record-breaking four months.

In November 2019, the Uttar Pradesh government began laying the foundation for the Defense Industrial Corridor project in Jhansi in coordination with the Ministry of Defense. The Defense Industrial Corridor project in Jhansi was officially launched in November 2019 by Uttar Pradesh and the Ministry of Defense.

To increase private participation in the defense corridor project, Yogi Adityanath met with representatives from the business community. Approximately 90% of the project, including the development and enlargement of Kashi Vishwanath Dham, has reportedly been finished.

The foundation for the Rs 1,100 crore AIIMS Gorakhpur project was set on July 22, 2016, with the primary goal of providing suitable facilities with Japanese technologies and equipment and good OPD facilities. On the 9 km section of the 32.5-km Laid Kanpur metro line that runs from IIT Kanpur to the Motijheel neighborhood, Adityanath signaled the start of a test run. Sources claim that the government has pledged to start the commercial operation in this section with six trains by mid-December, before the announcement of the 2022 election.

An Rs. 260 crore project would debut on October 21 at Kushinagar Airport. This is one of the significant infrastructural projects the Adityanath administration has finished. The Adityanath government asserts that 76% of the work has been finished. In the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, the Bundelkhand Highway is a 296-kilometer-long, four-lane-wide access-controlled highway currently under construction. Gonda Village on NH-35 in the Chitrakoot district and Kudrail Village on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway in the Etawah district would be connected by it.

A Declaration and A Bill

The Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance, 2020, was announced by Adityanath on October 31 as a measure to counter “Love Jihad.” Adityanath put forth the 2021–2030 UP population control draught law in July 2021. Several benefits were offered based on the existing single-child and two-child policies. The Samajwadi Party and the opposition Congress referred to it as “democracy murder” and a “political agenda.”

Second Period (2022-Present)

The legislative assembly’s results were formally announced on March 10, 2022. With 273 seats won by the BJP-led NDA coalition, Yogi’s present term as chief minister was extended. Yogi and his party created history, and he is now the first Chief Minister to retake power after serving out the full five years.

Controversies

Yogi received criticism for urging non-Hindus to convert to Hinduism. The cleansing campaign Adityanath oversaw in 2005 reportedly involved converting Christians to Hinduism. Among these circumstances, 1,800 Christians reportedly converted to Hinduism in the Uttar Pradesh town of Etah.

A dispute between a Hindu group and Muslims during a Muharram parade in Gorakhpur in 2007 resulted in the hospitalization of a young Hindu named Raj Kumar Agrahari. Following his contentious remarks, which caused unrest in Gorakhpur, he was later imprisoned. Yogi stated in 2015 that anyone who does not agree with Surya Namaskar, a yoga practice, is free to leave India.

Hafiz Saeed, a terrorist from Pakistan, was compared to Shah Rukh Khan by Yogi Adityanath, who stated that Shah Rukh Khan should remember that the Indian people made him famous. The election commission has banned him from campaigning for 72 hours as a result of this statement since it violates the model code of conduct. He would also be compelled to wander the streets if they chose to boycott his movies.

Biography