Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath filed his nomination from the Gorakhpur Assembly Constituency on Friday, 4 February. Adityanath is contesting his first Assembly election as he has been a member of the Legislative Council during his term as the chief minister.
Assembly elections in UP will be held in seven phases, starting from 10 February, with the last phase scheduled on 7 March.
In a show of strength, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) state president Swatantradev Singh were also present with Adityanath at the district collectorate office.
"BJP is the biggest organisation in the world. In 2017, the party formed the government in UP. In 2019, when the SP-BSP alliance was formed, political analysts had written off BJP, but under the guidance of Amit Shah, the Mahagathbandhan failed. There is no negative feedback from the people of UP about the BJP government," Adityanath said, according to Hindustan Times.
Before filing his nomination, Adityanath prayed at the Gorakhnath temple and performed a havan. He is also the head priest at the temple.
Gorakhpur is Yogi Adityanath's Stronghold
Situated in eastern UP, Gorakhpur is Adityanath's stronghold, and he has won every parliamentary election he has contested from there. His constituency will go to vote in the sixth phase on 3 March.
Earlier, Aditynath was tipped to contest from Ayodhya. However, the BJP decided to field him from Gorakhpur. BJP was the first party to declare a CM candidate ahead of the elections.
Bhim Army's Chandrashekhar Azad is, so far, the only known rival of Yogi Adityanath from the constituency. The Samajwadi Party (SP) has not yet named its candidate.
'Yogi Has Freed UP of Mafias': Amit Shah
Before visiting the election office with Adityanath, Amit Shah lavished praise on the UP CM during a rally.
"I can say with pride that Yogi Adityanath has freed Uttar Pradesh of mafias. After 25 years, Yogi Adityanath established the rule of law in Uttar Pradesh," Shah said.
"In 2013, I was made the incharge of UP. BJP won 73 seats in the Lok Sabha election. In 2017, we bagged more than 300 seats. The foundation of good governance was laid under Yogi Adityanath. Today, UP is free from the mafia. Either they are in jail or in the list of the opposition parties," he added.
Shah also said UP has battled COVID most effectively under Yogi Adityanath's leadership.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made a provision for free COVID vaccines for the people, and I am happy to inform you that the state that has carried out the maximum number of vaccinations is none other than your own Uttar Pradesh. Under Yogi Ji's leadership, UP has battled COVID most effectively," said the senior BJP leader.
(With inputs from Hindustan Times.)
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