BJP firebrand leader Yogi Adityanath is new UP CM

Gorakhpur Lok Sabha MP Yogi Adityanath was on Saturday named as the next Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister in a meeting of the newly-elected BJP legislators here, party sources said.

Adityanath's name was proposed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suresh Khanna and was supported by Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu.

Known for his firebrand Hindutva image, the 44-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader comes from the Rajput community and is the head of the Gorakhnath Mutt in Gorakhpur, which has millions of followers from eastern UP and neighbouring Nepal.

He has been elected as the Lok Sabha MP from Gorakhpur uninterrupted from 1998.

A science graduate, Adityanath is popular for his fiery speeches among his supporters but has antagonised minorities by his speeches and statements like Love Jihad, Ghar Wapasi.