Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s erstwhile Lok Sabha constituency, Gorakhpur, is set to witness bypolls on 11 March. The seat was held by Adityanath for almost two decades.
The seat, that has seen 16 Lok Sabha polls and one bypoll, was bagged by three monks of the “Gorakhnath Peeth” for 10 terms over the past five decades.
Mahant Digvijaynath
In 1967, Mahant Digvijaynath contested the elections for the first time as an independent candidate and defeated Congress’ SL Saxena.
The seat was bagged by Mahant Avaidynath in 1970 bypolls necessitated by the demise of Digvijaynath in 1969.
However, Congress’ Narsingh Narayan defeated Avaidyanath in the 1971 General Elections, by 36,000 votes.
The Winning Spree Since 1989
After the debacle in 1971, the seat remained out of the hands of the Gorakhnath Peeth till 1988. In 1989, Avaidyanath won the seat on a Hindu Mahasabha ticket, defeating Janata Dal candidate Rampal Singh by 45,000 votes. The seat has been retained by the Gorakhnath Peeth ever since.
From 1991-1996, Avaidyanath retained the seat as Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate. Yogi Adityanath has retained the seat since 1998.
33 Years of Gorakhnath Peeth Dominance
The seat has been with Gorakhnath Peeth for almost 33 years. The BJP has held the fort for the past 27 years and has managed a clean sweep victory since 2004.
(The story was first published on Hindi Quint.)
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