BJP firebrand leader Yogi Adityanath is new UP CM

AT THE HELM: State Bharatiya Janata Party chief Maurya and Lucknow Mayor Sharma are chosen as Deputy Chief Ministers

LUCKNOW: In a surprise move, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday chose firebrand leader Yogi Adityanath ( pictured) as the new Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister with two deputies — a first in the state —in Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma.

The new dispensation would be sworn in on Sunday at 2.15 pm, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters after a meeting of the newlyelected 312 BJP legislators here.

The oath taking ceremony is expected to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah and union ministers and chief ministers of various states.

Naidu said Adityanath, 44, the five-time Gorakhpur MP, emerged as a consensus candidate in the first meeting of the new legislature party.

“As soon as the MLAs heard Yogiji’s name, they stood and supported the proposal,” said the minister, who was the BJP observer for the selection of the Chief Minister. “Eleven MLAs proposed his name and all others unanimously supported it.”

Naidu said Adityanath — who comes from the Rajput community — wanted two other “senior leaders” to help him run the government smoothly and state BJP chief Maurya and Lucknow Mayor Sharma were chosen as Deputy Chief Ministers.

This is for the first time in the history of Uttar Pradesh that the state will have two government.

BJP sources said here that this was done to balance caste aspirations since now there is a Rajput as chief minister and an MBC and a Brahmin face as deputies.

Adityanath is the head of the Gorakhnath Mutt in Gorakhpur, which has millions of followers from eastern Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring Nepal.

A science graduate, the chief minister-designate is popular for his fiery speeches among his supporters but has antagonised minorities by his statements like “Love Jihad” and “Ghar Wapasi”.

Opposition parties on Saturday criticised the BJP after it announced Yogi Adityanath’s name as the new Chief Minister, saying it was pursuing deputy heads of the the “politics of Hindutva”.

Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha said the decision sent out an “unambiguous” message that the BJP is pursuing the policy of polarisation.

“There is a categorical, unambiguous message being sent by Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi. With the choice of a very communal, Hindutva champion like Yogi Adityanath, the BJP is going to pursue a policy of clear polarisation, which will effectively mean the consolidation of a hardline Hindutva ideology not just in Uttar Pradesh but in the country,” Jha said.

Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy said: “The BJP is in majority and it is their prerogative as to whom they name as the Chief Minister. But it is evident that the BJP wants to pursue a strong Hindutva line in Uttar Pradesh.”