Six Years Of Yogi Adityanath And The Journey Of ‘Brand Yogi’

Six years ago, when the name of Yogi Adityanath was announced as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, it took the entire nation by surprise. The year 2017 had ended the 14 year exile of Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh and some of the biggest names were being touted to ascend to the coveted chair of the Chief Minister. When Yogi’s name was announced as the CM, the monk who was the MP from Gorakhpur and one of the strongest leaders in the state, shocked every political analyst in India. As Yogi Adityanath completed 6 years as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and his government completed one year of Yogi 2.0 on 25 March, here is a look at how the monk emerged as the strongest brand in India. 

On Saturday, Adityanath addressed the media as he released the booklet ‘Chhah Saal-UP Khushhal’ on the 6 years of his government and first anniversary of his second tenure. From someone who was known as the “Poster boy of Hindutva from Eastern UP” to the Man who heralded a new era of development in UP, Yogi Adityanath has travelled a long way. 

Yogi spoke of the expressways, which according to the BJP has sped up the growth of Uttar Pradesh. Addressing the media, Yogi said, “Eastern UP is today connected with Purvanchal Expressway and Bundelkhand Expressway. The work of the Ganga Expressway is going on at a fast pace to connect Western UP with Central UP and Eastern UP. Our efforts are to complete the work of Ganga Expressway before Prayagraj Kumbh 2025.” 

The road to success and making UP one of the most progressive states in the country was not an easy one for Yogi. And Yogi connected this with his work to connect every district headquarters with a four lane highway. “Continuous work is going on to connect the district headquarters with the Ring Road,” Yogi said, cementing every inch of his success with the road network connectivity in the state. 

While the Samajwadi Party loves to take the credit of modernising UP’s transport system with Metro in Lucknow, it is under Yogi Adityanath that UP emerged to be the only state in the country which has metro services operational in 5 key cities and sixth will be operational this year. “UP has the most extensive metro service in the country in five cities and the Prime Minister will also inaugurate rapid rail service next month,” Yogi informed, and one could not help noticing his smile of achievement. 

Under Yogi, UP also saw more air connectivity, with 9 fully operational airports in the state. Talking about his government’s achievements, Yogi said, “We are currently working on 12 airports, and the Airport Authority has given its consent for providing air connectivity. Within the next two years, Uttar Pradesh will be the first state to have five international airports. Three international airports are currently operational. By next year, Ayodhya and the Jewar International Airport will be operational.”