Yogi Adityanath, a firebrand BJP leader and a five-time MP from Gorakhpur, was named on Saturday as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, exacly a week after the party took control of the state with a brute majority. The beginning of political innings: It was in the year 1998 when Yogi Adityanath entered the political arena after leaving his ancestral home at Pancher village in Pauri Garhwal where he was born on June 5, 1972. The year saw former BJP MP Mahant Avidyanath, a key leader of 90’s Ram Temple movement, passing his baton to Yogi Adityanath who emerged as a controversial Hindu leader known for hate speeches. Chief priest of Gorakhnath temple: Adityanath received deeksha (teachings) of the Nath sect at the Gorakhnath temple in February, 1994. Yogi Adityanath took over as chief priest of Gorakhnath temple after Mahant Avidyanath passed away in 2014.

Source: Hindustan Times March 18, 2017 14:15 UTC