Born on June 5, 1972, in a small village in Uttarakhand, Yogi Adityanath’s real name is Ajay Mohan Bisht. From his school days, Yogi Adityanath was active in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, and from the beginning, he had a strong inclination towards Hindutva.
Yogi Adityanath participated in every program of the Vidyarthi Parishad. After school, he completed his B.Sc. in Mathematics from Garhwal University. During his college days, he consistently participated in social and political activities. After completing his schooling and college education, at the tender age of 22, he renounced his home and family and dedicated himself to the ascetic life in Gorakhpur.
How Avaidyanath was influenced by Adityanath
When CM Yogi Adityanath was in school, he regularly participated in debate competitions. The then Goraksh Peethadhishwar Mahant Avaidyanath was invited as the chief guest to these competitions. At one such event, Mahant Avaidyanath attended and heard Yogi Adityanath’s speech. Avaidyanath was quite impressed by that speech. After this event, Avaidyanath called him and asked, “Where are you from? Where did you come from?” Following this, a conversation ensued between them, and eventually, Avaidyanath invited Adityanath to Gorakhpur.
How he became Avaidyanath’s successor
You might be surprised to know that Avaidyanath was also from Uttarakhand, and his village was just 10 kilometers away from Adityanath’s village. Anyway, upon Mahant Avaidyanath’s invitation, Yogi Adityanath arrived in Gorakhpur. After staying there for a few days, he returned to his village. Later, he enrolled in Lalit Mohan Sharma Mahavidyalaya in Rishikesh for further studies, but his heart was no longer in academics; instead, his mind was drawn towards the ascetic abode of Gorakhpur. Meanwhile, Mahant Avaidyanath fell ill, and upon hearing this news, Yogi immediately rushed to Gorakhpur.
When Yogi Adityanath reached Gorakhpur, he saw that the Mahant was quite ill. The Mahant then called Yogi close and said, “We are fighting to build a temple at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya. My condition is deteriorating rapidly, and if something happens to me, there will be no one to look after this temple.”
Hearing Mahant Avaidyanath’s words, Yogi became very emotional and said, “Don’t worry, nothing will happen to you. I will come to Gorakhpur soon.” A few days later, Yogi Adityanath left his home on the pretext of finding a job and headed towards the ascetic abode of Gorakhpur, where he remained under the care of Mahant Avaidyanath. After this, the Mahant made him his successor, and Yogi Adityanath remained dedicated to Gorakhpur.
How he entered politics
Yogi Adityanath’s guru, Avaidyanath, retired from political life in 1998 and declared Yogi Adityanath his successor. This marked the beginning of Yogi Adityanath’s political career. It is worth noting that he is the Mahant of the famous Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur. The former Mahant of this temple was Avaidyanath, who chose Yogi Adityanath as his successor. Anyway, in 1998, Yogi contested the 12th Lok Sabha election from Gorakhpur and won, directly entering Parliament. The interesting fact was that he was just 26 years old at the time and became the youngest Member of Parliament.
Since 1998, Yogi Adityanath has continuously represented the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha constituency, having been elected as an MP from this seat 5 times. However, in 2016, when he was made the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, he had to resign from the MP position. Yogi Adityanath is a prominent face of the Uttar Pradesh BJP and one of the influential leaders in North Indian politics.