Hindutva face Adityanath is BJP’s pick for UP CM

TOP JOB Fivetime Gorakhpur MP will be sworn in today with deputies Maurya and Sharma

Yogi Adityanath, a firebrand BJP leader known for his radical views on Muslims, was named on Saturday as the new chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, a surprise choice by the BJP to lead the country’s most populous state.

The party also named two deputy chief ministers, state BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya and Lucknow mayor Dinesh Sharma, a first in the state.

Adityanath and his council of ministers will be sworn in on Sunday, a week after the BJP seized power in the state with a brute majority, raising prospects of the party’s re-election in the 2019 general elections.

Opposition parties criticised the selection of the Hindu hardliner, a 44-year-old five-time lawmaker who is also the head of the Gorakhnath temple.

Political analysts said the massive mandate might have helped the party overcome caste concerns and carry forward its agenda of Hindutva and develop- ment.

Adityanath is a strong votary of constructing a Ram temple in Ayodhya and is also known for his provocative statements on contentious issues such as ‘love jihad’, a term used by Hindu right-wing outfits to describe alleged luring of Hindu girls for conversion to Islam.

Adityanath, however, said he will follow Modi’s path of inclusive development, “Sab ka saath, sab ka vikas” (with all and development of all).

“I am confident that the state will march on the path of development,” he said in his first media interaction after being named for the top job.

Adityanath and his two deputies met governor Ram Naik to formally stake claim to form the government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party chief Amit Shah and other BJP leaders are expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony at Lucknow’s Smriti Upvan on Sunday afternoon.

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