LUCKNOW, March 18 - Yogi Adityanath, the controversial mascot of hardline Hindutva, will be the next Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. He will be the 21st Chief Minister of the state.
In a move that surprised many, the 44-year-old five-term MP from Gorakhpur was elected the BJP legislature party leader at a meeting of the newly elected MLAs, a week after BJP won a resounding three-fourth majority in the key Hindi heartland state, making a combeback to power after 15 years.
State BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya, who was himself in contention for the top job, first announced Adityanath�s election. Maurya, the MP from Phulpur in Allahabad, will be the Deputy Chief Minister apart from senior BJP leader and Lucknow Mayor Dinesh Sharma.
Later, addressing the media, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, who along with BJP general secretary Bhupendra Yadav was present at the meeting as central observer for the election, said that Adityanath�s name was proposed by Suresh Khanna, an eight-term MLA, and seconded by 10 others. � PTI
