Yogi Adityanath, and rise of BJP’s new star campaigner
NEW DELHI : Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has clearly moved ranks in BJP.
The 45-year-old Gorakhpur based monk-politician in saffron robe has spent at least six days outside Delhi this month to campaign for the party in election-related and other outreach programmes, signalling his rise within the BJP as the new ‘star campaigner’ of the party.
He was first off the blocks among chief ministers to campaign in Himachal Pradesh – a hill state with a sizeable population of Thakur.
Yogi – or Ajay Mohan Bisht – was born in a Thakur family from Pauri Garhwal in neighbouring Uttarakhand.
On his campaign trail, he spent two days in Himachal Pradesh, addressing rallies in Kangra, Solan and Sirmaur districts.
“Yogi draws crowd, much more than any other chief minister of the BJP,” a party leader in charge of campaign management said, on condition his name was not published. “He is perhaps only behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi in terms of drawing crowds.”
Adityanath was in Gujarat for two days, October 13-14, to take part in BJP’s ‘Gaurav Yatra’ in Surat, Valsad and Kutch. His itinerary included rallies, public meetings and road shows.
“Whatever the BJP may say, religious divide has been an angle of its campaign. It keeps arousing religious icon. Yogi may not be using harsh language, but his identity helps BJP
› Yogi may not be using harsh language, his identity helps BJP keep the core Hindu voters intact. That is the reason he is at the forefront of campaign SANJAY KUMAR, director, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies
keep the core Hindu voters intact. That is the reason for keeping Yogi at the forefront of the campaign,” says Sanjay Kumar, director, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, a research institute for the social sciences and humanities. “Don’t forget he is a good speaker, too.”
Earlier, Yogi marched in violence-hit Kannur district of Kerala on October 4, as a mark of protest against “CPM-sponsored killings” of Rashtriya Swaymsevak Sangh workers.
Next day, he flew to Haryana to attend a fest, as the chief guest, at a Hindu temple complex in Hisar. The same day he was in Delhi, along with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, to give away awards instituted in memory of former chief of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Ashok Singhal.
He will next travel to Karnataka in December to join BJP’s Nava Karnataka Nirmana Parivarthana Yathre at Chikkamagaluru.