Yogi Adityanath is Oneindia's Newsmaker 2017; Who else are in the top five

Manushi Chillar, Mukesh Ambani, Nirmala Sitharaman and Kasinathuni Viswanath are others in the top five.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has got the most number of votes in Oneindia's Newsmaker 2017 polls. The firebrand BJP leader topped the list, comprising of famous people from all walks of life, by getting 19 % votes.

It has to be said that Adityanath's rise in 2017 was meteoric. From being Member of Parliament from Gorakhpur, to being chosen as Chief Minister of a state which has a significant impact on national politics, his rise has been phenomenal.

Adityanath is also the Mahant or head priest of the Gorakhnath Math, a position he has held since the death of his spiritual father, Mahant Avaidyanath, in September 2014.

Adityanath was born as Ajay Mohan Bisht on 5 June 1972 in the village of Panchur, in Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand. His father Anand Singh Bisht was a forest ranger. He completed his bachelor's degree in Mathematics from the Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University in Uttarakhand. He left his home in the 1990s to join the Ram temple movement. He was influenced by the preachings Mahant Avaidyanath, the chief priest of the Gorakhnath Math and became his disciple. Subsequently, he was given the name 'Yogi Adityanath' and designated as the successor of the Mahant Avaidyanath.

Adityanath first won Lok Sabha election in 1998 and became youngest MP in the 12th Lok Sabha. He was 26-years-old then. He has won five consecutive terms from Gorakhpur seat since then. Adityanath is said to be so strong in this region that the BJP, as per some reports, used to be scared to field candidates without his consent. In 2007, Adityanath threatened to field 70 candidates for the state assembly against the BJP candidates. But he reached a compromise in the end.

Since becoming the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Adityanath launched several initiatives including the cleanliness drive, banning of illegal slaughterhouses, forming of anti-Romeo squads, transferring of many police officials and ban on the use of tobacco products in government offices. Many of his moves were criticised by the opposition, but Adityanath paid no heed.

How others fared in Newsmaker 2017 polls:

Miss World Manushi Chillar

Miss World Manushi Chillar stood second in the Oneindia Newsmakers 2017 polls. She got 18% votes in the poll.

Manushi Chillar won the Miss World 2017 pageant and became sixth Indian woman to win the title. Chillar won the title after a gap of almost 16 years after Priyanka Chopra won Miss World in 2000.

She is pursuing a medical degree at the Bhagat Phool Singh Medical College in Sonipat.

Mukesh Ambani

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani stood third in the Oneindia Newsmakers 2017 polls by getting 9% of the total votes.His net worth is 38 billion dollars. He has retained his spot as the world's richest Indian for the tenth consecutive year.

Nirmala Sitharaman

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stood fourth in the Oneindia Newsmakers 2017 polls by getting 8% votes. In September last year, Sitharaman became India's first full-fledged defence minister.Sitharaman has served as a Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs under the Ministry of Finance headed by Arun Jaitley and the Minister of Commerce and Industry with independent charge. She is a Rajya Sabha member and represents Karnataka in the Parliament.

Kasinathuni Viswanath

Veteran Telugu actor, director, and screenwriter Kasinathuni Viswanath stood fifth in the Oneindia's Newsmakers 2017 polls by bagging 7% votes.Viswanath was awarded the 2017 Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award in Indian cinema, at the 64th National Film Awards.In a film career spanning sixty years, Viswanath has directed fifty-three feature films in a variety of genres, including films based on performing arts, visual arts, and aesthetics.

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