Yogi Adityanath takes oath as Uttar Pradesh CM for second term

Lucknow, Mar 25: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister-designate Yogi Adityanath took the oath as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister for the second consecutive term at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.

PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Haryana CM ML Khattar, Himachal Pradesh CM Jairam Thakur and others were present during the ceremony.

Born on June 5, 1972 in Pauri Garhwal in present-day Uttarakhand Ajay Singh Bisht was the fifth of seven children of Anand Singh Bisht, a forest ranger.

Ajay finished his graduation, a BSc in Mathematics, from Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University. It was during his MSc that he left college and took up renunciation.

He renounced his name and family when he was 21, becoming a disciple of Mahant Avaidyanath, the head priest of the Gorakhpur Math, to eventually become Yogi Adityanath.

At 26, Adityanath was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time from Gorakhpur, becoming the youngest parliamentarian. He won the Lok Sabha election from Gorakhpur for five consecutive terms - 1998, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014 -- till he became a surprise choice to lead UP after win in 2017 assembly polls.

Adityanath contested assembly polls for the first time in 2022 and won from Gorakhpur Urban seat. He is the first sitting CM, since Mulayam Singh Yadav in 2007, to contest polls. Both his predecessors, Akhilesh Yadav (2012-17) and Mayawati (2007-2012) were members of legislative council (MLC). In his first term, Adityanath was an MLC too.

The BJP created history in recent UP assembly polls when, along with allies, it won a record mandate bagging 274 of the 403 seats, becoming the first party in three decades to get a second term after completing a five-year tenure.