Enjoying the limelight: The rise of Yogi Adityanath

The supporters of Yogi Adityanath are enjoying the publicity, how so ever controversial or negative, that he is getting now. The five-time 42-year old MP from Gorakhpur has always been important in eastern Uttar Pradesh (UP) politics and the Sangh Parivar scheme of things. But he never received the kind of prominence that he is now getting in the run-up to the by-elections in the 11 state assembly seats. Some find it intriguing that a 2007 tape, allegedly of a speech given in Azamgarh where he is seen making communal statements, has resurfaced now. Though a case against him based on contents of that speech is still pending as the authenticity of that tape is still being probed, Yogi has remained unfazed. He continues to use incendiary rhetoric to burnish his Hindutva image which has defined his tenure as head of the revered Gorakhnath Peeth. His inclusion in the list of star BJP campaigners for the 13 September bypolls in UP, albeit at Number 16 in a list of 25, is an indicator that the party is not shying away from its Hindutva plank. BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said, “It is BJP’s discretion as a political party as to whom it would put forward as its campaigner for an election or for other issues that it wishes to take up.” Samajwadi Party and some Muslim bodies are demanding that Adityanath should not allowed to campaign in these elections. Interestingly, the matter will now be decided by the Allahabad High Court which, on Thursday, issued notices to the Centre, UP government and Election Commission while hearing a petition to stop BJP MP Yogi Adityanath and Union minister Kalraj Mishra from campaigning. The term “love jihad” used by the saffron leaders is at the centre of controversy. [caption id=“attachment_1698487” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Yogi Adityanath has gained popularity from all the media attention he has got. Agencies[/caption] Whether or not Adityanath gets to campaign, he has already got the due prominence that he has been seeking for all these years. Adityanath was chosen by his Guru Avaidyanath as his successor to head Gorakhnath Mutt as also in politics. The Mutt had for long been been associated with Hindu Mahasabha but later Avaidyanath decided to join BJP. When Adityanath first became MP in 1998 at the age of 26, he was the youngest MP of the 12th Lok Sabha. He won all four successive elections that he contested, all with a handsome margin that varied between two to three lakh votes. Though he had not been completely in sync with the BJP leadership and never been part of the organisational hierarchy, he had always been respected as a mass leader and a mascot of Hindutava in eastern UP. Known as a rebel, he held a parallel three-day Virat Hindu Mahasammelan in Gorakhpur in December 2006 when BJP held National Executive and Council meeting in Lucknow with Rajnath Singh presiding as party president. Incidentally, it was also the last occasion when Atal Bihari Vajpayee participated in a party conclave. Adityanath supporters claim that Rajnath never allowed Gorakhpur MP to gain the position that he deserved because both of them came from same Rajput community. They hail the current party president Amit Shah for recognising his worth and giving him, at least symbolically, what has been long overdue. For the Sangh Parivar, Adityanath offers the rare combination of being a mass leader and head of Hindu sect that has lakhs of devotees and a good network among sadhu-samaj. He is deeply involved in re-conversion, working with the dalit community and whose parliamentary record in terms of participation in debates, asking questions and attendance is also good. Incidentally, he is very active on social media and regularly posts updates on facebook and twitter. Some of his supporters have started chanting ‘Abki bar Yogi sarkar’ in their Facebook campaign. The CM post remains a mirage but the vacuum at the top of the UP BJP remains, and the race among aspirants has already begun. But for the now, BJP needs to win decisively in the by-elections to keep up morale of its supporters in the state. Since all these assembly seats were held by BJP, and then vacated because the 12 MLAs (11 of BJP and one of ally Apna Dal) were elected as MPs, it is supremely important for the BJP to make a good show. It is equally important for the Samajwadi Party to snatch some of the seats from the BJP to show that despite the humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, their power in the state remains undiminished. The BJP realises that it is difficult to win all these seats in a by-election where the balance is generally tilted towards the ruling party in the state. The Samajwadi Party sees a good opening there. But the make or break election for Samajwadi Party will be happening in Mainpuri, the seat vacated by Mulayam Singh Yadav. The SP chief’s grand nephew Tej Pratap Singh Yadav is pitted against BJP’s Prem Singh Shakya. Mulayam’s plans to address a series of meetings on Saturday and Sunday and have interactions with party workers at various levels indicates the stakes involved. Samajwadi party national secretary Rajesh Dikshit dismisses any talk of a close contest in Mainpuri, and claims that his party will grab the majority of seats from BJP. Dikshit also points out that if Adityanath continues making incendiary comments, he will “end up becoming BJP’s Pravin Togadia."