CM Yogi to contest Assembly polls from Gorakhpur

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to run Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, in Gorakhpur. The BJP released its first list of candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh in 2022 on Saturday. At a press conference in New Delhi, union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP national general secretary Arun Singh announced the list.

Except for Adityanath and Maurya, all of the candidates are running for 105 of the 113 seats up for election in the first two phases on February 10 and 14, with 44 of them from Other Backward Classes and 19 from Scheduled Castes, accounting for 60% of the total. 

Yogi said shortly after the news, "I am grateful to Prime Minister Modi, BJP Chief JP Nadda, and the Central Parliamentary Committee for fielding me from Gorakhpur. The BJP follows the 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' approach. In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP will create a government with a full majority."

According to Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, 63 incumbent MLAs are on the list, including ministers like Suresh Khanna, Suresh Rana, and Shrikant Sharma, while 20 have stepped down to make place for others. While there was anticipation that Adityanath would be fielded from Ayodhya, Pradhan said the party opted to field him from Gorakhpur, where he has represented in the Lok Sabha for five straight times. When asked about the matter, Pradhan stated that the chief minister was open to run for any of the state's 403 seats. 

Adityanath is running for the first time in the Assembly elections.

Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, welcomed the announcement of poll dates in the state, predicting that the BJP will reclaim power with a "overwhelming majority." The Election Commission has said that seven-phase voting would begin on February 10 in Uttar Pradesh. In March, along with four other poll-bound states, votes will be counted. 

"We celebrate the festival of democracy," Adityanath tweeted in Hindi, "and with the blessings of the people and on the basis of the successes of the double engine government, the BJP will form its government with an overwhelming majority." 

On February 10, February 14, February 20, February 23, February 27, March 3 and March 7, the state will go to the polls. Votes are being counted in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur will be held on March 10.

Adityanath has already been named as the BJP's chief ministerial candidate in the politically key state.