Yogi Adityanath to be UP chief minister, says development is top priority; swearing-in on Sunday

Lucknow: A week after BJP's historic mandate in Uttar Pradesh elections, the newly elected legislators on Saturday picked five-time Lok Sabha MP from Gorakhpur Yogi Adityanath as their legislature party leader, paving way for his appointment as the next chief minister of the state.

The announcement was made after a legislature party meeting here in the afternoon that was also attended by senior party leader Nitin Gadkari.

The elected members have also selected Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma as deputy chief ministers.

After the meeting, Yogi Adityanath along with other elected members met Governor Ram Naik to stake claim to form the government.

The oath-taking ceremony will take place at 2:15 pm on Sunday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah in attendance.

“Yogi Adityanath was the unanimous choice of the party and the MLAs,” Union minister Venkaiah Naidu told reporters after the legislature party meeting.

“This mandate is for development and is against corruption, black money, caste politics, religious politics and vote bank politics,” Naidu said.

The main agenda of the BJP-led UP government will be development and good governance, he said.

"I am thankful to Governor Ram Naik who invited me to form government in UP," Adityanath said in his first brief media interaction at Raj Bhawan.

He said he would follow PM Modi's slogan "sab ka saath, sab ka vikas" (With all and development of all) and ensure all round development of the state.

"I am confident that the state will march on the path of development," he said.

He said his efforts would be to provide "good governance" in the state.

Adityanath’s name was proposed by BJP leader Suresh Khanna and was supported by Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu.

The firebrand 44-year-old BJP leader comes from the Rajput community and heads the famous Hindu temple Gorakhnath Mutt in Gorakhpur.

He has been elected to the Lok Sabha for the fifth consecutive time from Gorakhpur.

A science graduate, Adityanath is popular for his fiery speeches among his supporters but has antagonised the minorities.

In the recently held assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the single largest party, bagging 312 seats out of 403.

The voters tilted heavily in favour of BJP after its charismatic leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to the public to vote for his party to usher in development and a graft-free governance in the state.

India's largest state went to polls weeks after the Centre's demonetisation drive which some believed would impact negatively on BJP's poll prospects.

But the party's emphatic victory proved the critics wrong and ensuring that it returns to power after a gap of 15 years.