Ajay Singh to Yogi Adityanath, meet UP's new chief minister

Mahanth Yogi Adityanath has been appointed as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Born Ajay Singh on June 5 1972, Adityanath is a five-time member of Parliament from the Gorakhpur constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Adityanath is the mahant or head priest of the Gorakhnath Mutt.

He hails from a Rajput family and was the youngest member of the 12th Lok Sabha at the age of 26. He has always been in the news and in 2005, made headlines when he led a purification drive which involved the conversion of Christians to Hinduism.

He has always been in the news for his controversial remarks. In 2015, he declared that those who oppose Surya Namaskar should leave India. My request to those who communalism even in the Sun God would be to drown themselves in the sea or live in a dark room for the rest of their lives, he had said.

He also compared actor Sharukh Khan to Lashkar-e-Tayiba boss, Hafiz Saeed. He said that Khan should remember that the majority population made him a star. If they boycott his films, he would wander on the streets. It is unfortunate that he is speaking the language of Hafiz Saeed he had said.

[Yogi Adityanath compares Shah Rukh Khan to terrorist Hafiz Saeed]

Adityanath's relationship with the BJP has been a strained one. In 2006, he organised a Virat Hindu Mahasammelan at Gorakhpur, during the same period when the BJP was holding its National Executive meet in Lucknow. In 2007 the conflict furthered when Adityanath had demanded more than 100 seats in the eastern UP region to go to his candidates.

However, the BJP and Adityanath compromised with the RSS intervening. Finally, eight of his candidates were selected. In 2010, there was tension between him and the party once again. He was one of the several BJP MPs who defied the party's whip on the Women's Reservation Bill.

OneIndia News