Yogi left bruised as Gorakhpur changes hands after three decades

The defeat in the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat bypoll left Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath politically bruised and could well dent his stature within the saffron party.

Adityanath, hailed as the BJP's 'poster boy' and its Hindutva mascot who was also the 'mahant' (religious head) of the famous Gorakhnath Temple, had represented the seat thrice while his guru Mahant Avaidyanath had won from here four times.

The Temple has lakhs of followers in Gorakhpur and the adjoining districts in eastern UP and both Adityanath and BJP were assured of a victory.

Murmurs of resentment were heard within the BJP rank and file in Gorakhpur after the candidature of Upendra Shukla, as it ended 29-year long relationship between the Gorakhpur LS constituency and the Gorakhnath Temple.

According to the sources within the BJP in Gorakhpur, Adityanath as well as a section of the local saffron leaders wanted Yogi Kamalnath from the Gorakhnath Temple as the party nominee.

They felt that any one from the Temple would have little difficulty in retaining the seat as the Peeth commanded considerable influence in the town as well as in the nearby areas.

Samajwadi Party (SP) fielded OBC leader Praveen Nishad as its nominee apparently with an eye on the 'Nishad' community voters, who numbered around 3.5 lakh in the constituency.

Sources said that the saffron party did not want to 'annoy' the Brahmin voters, who numbered around 1.5 lakh in the constituency.

BJP had made Shiv Pratap Shukla, considered to be a rival of Yogi in Gorakhpur, a union minister after Adityanath's anointment as UP chief minister to 'placate' the Brahmins.