After a landslide victory for Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s close win from Gorakpur (Urban) Seat, BJP is on its way to create at least seven records as the counting of votes was undertaken this Thursday.
Here are some of the records you need to know:
1. Yogi Adityanath becomes the first CM to complete tenure and win a second term
The first assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh were constituted on May 20, 1952. Since then the state has witnessed 21 CMs in about 70 years. Yogi is set to become the first chief minister in UP’s electoral history to complete a full term of five years and win a second consecutive tenure..
2. Yogi Adityanath is the fifth CM to win a second consecutive term
Before Yogi, only four CMs have won a second term in UP ever. The four CMs to do so were Sampurnanda in 1957, Chandrabhanu Gupta in 1962, Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna in 1974, and Narayan Dutt Tiwari in 1985.
3. First CM to retain power in 37 years
Previously, ND Tiwari of the Congress was CM of UP (undivided) in 1985 when the state proceeded to an election. The Congress won and Tiwari retained the post for the second term in a row. Since then, no CM has succeeded in keeping the CM’s chair for a second consecutive term. Adityanath has become the first CM to do so since then.
4. First BJP CM to return to power
India’s most populous state has seen four BJP CMs till now. Before Yogi, Kalyan Singh, Ram Prakash Gupta, and defense minister Rajnath Singh had the post. Yet, none of them was able to retain the office for a second consecutive term. Yogi has become the first CM from BJP to do so.
5. First MLA CM in 15 years
From the moment Yogi Adityanath takes oath as chief minister for a second consecutive term, he will also become the first MLA (member of legislative assembly) CM in 15 years. Previously, Mayawati was an MLC (member of legislative council) as CM between 2007 and 2012. Akhilesh Yadav was also an MLC when he took the office between 2012 and 2017. When he became CM, Adityanath was a Lok Sabha MP.
Yogi was a Lok Sabha MP from Gorakhpur when he was elected as CM after BJP’s massive victory of 312 of the 403 assembly seats in 2017.
At this very moment, two CMs – Nitish Kumar in Bihar and Uddhav Thackeray in Maharashtra are MLCs.
6. Third CM to complete tenure
Out of 21 CMs in 70 years, only three have successfully completed the full tenure of five years. Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati was the first one (2007-2012) and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav the second (2012-2017).
7. First CM to break Noida curse
Surprisingly, the “Noida curse” is a feared phenomenon in UP politics. The industrial city of Noida, which stands for New Okhla Industrial Development Authority, is a satellite town of the national capital Delhi and a city in the Gautam Buddh Nagar district of UP.
According to the Noida curse, whichever CM visits the city during the tenure, loses the next election or does not complete the term.
However, Yogi Adityanath ignored such beliefs and visited Noida to inaugurate Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line on December 25, 2018. Soon after that, Akhilesh Yadav had commented that Adityanath would lose the next UP assembly elections. Nevertheless, Yogi won the assembly election and broke the curse.
The Noida curse became popular after the then UP CM Veer Bahadur Singh had to leave office in June 1988, a few days after he returned from the city. ND Tiwari (Singh’s successor) too lost the CM’s post after visiting Noida. Thereafter, CMs and other leaders started ignoring Noida.
Believing such superstition, Akhilesh’s father Mulayam Singh Yadav, Kalyan Singh, and Rajnath Singh skipped visiting Noida when they were in office. Akhilesh too skipped the Asian Development Bank (ADB) summit organized in Noida in which former PM Manmohan Singh was the chief guest. He ignored Noida again when he inaugurated the 165-km Yamuna Expressway from Lucknow instead of the industrial city.
Source: TOI
