THE selection of the mahant of the Gorakhnath temple, Yogi Adityanath, who is also a member of Lok Sabha from Gorakhpur, as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, is a clear signal that the BJP-RSS combine wishes to pursue the line of Hindu consolidation as the basis of its future political strategy.

Since becoming the member of the Lok Sabha from Gorakhpur in 1998, Adityanath became notorious for his record of Muslim baiting and direct incitement of communal violence in Gorakhpur and the adjoining districts in eastern Uttar Pradesh.  He raised the Hindu Yuva Vahini which was nothing but an armed vigilante group. In his political campaign and in his election speeches henceforth, he has had only one aim – Muslim bashing.

Adityanath has a number of criminal cases pending against him which include attempt to murder, rioting, carrying deadly weapons, promoting enmity between two religious groups, defiling a place of worship and so on.  The specialty of the Yuva Vahini under the Adityanath’s leadership was to intervene and convert any minor dispute or common place quarrel into a communal riot. 

To make such a person, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, can only be a deliberately thought out decision. This is evident from the circumstances in which the massive verdict was won by the BJP in the state. The victory was attributed to the Modi-Shah duo – Narendra Modi for his mass appeal and Amit Shah for his organisational skills.  There was no projection of Adityanath as the chief ministerial candidate of the BJP.  The three-fourth majority achieved by the BJP and its allies precluded any pressure from any leader or lobby to make someone the chief minister. 

So the only conclusion is that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, in concert with RSS, decided on making the controversial Adityanath the chief minister of the biggest and the most populous state of the country. 

A section of the mainstream media is busy seeking to remake Adityanath’s image.  Stories are appearing of how Muslims are employed in various capacities at the Math; how Muslims, who approached Adityanath as MP, get their work done and so on.

This is precisely what is sought to be achieved by the Hindutva order – Muslims can live in the country, provided they accept the hegemony of a Hindu Rashtra.  Browbeaten into submission over the last two decades in Gorakhpur, Muslims will be allowed to petition the Hindu Maharaj as humble subjects for getting their work done. 

The RSS and Narendra Modi have taken the most audacious step yet in their gameplan to usher in a Hindu Rashtra. They have put in place, as chief minister of the biggest state of India, a person who has openly challenged the very precepts of the constitution. 

Narendra Modi, in a speech at the BJP headquarters in the meeting to celebrate the victory in the assembly elections, spoke of a “New India” in the making.  What will be the shape and contours of that “New India” have been made clear by Adityanath’s new responsibility.

(March 22, 2017)