February 23, 1998

Yogi Adityanath
BJP

Gorakhpur UTTAR PRADESH
Electorate: 12.2 lakh
Main Rival: J P Nishad (SP)

He's a little fellow, only 26 years old and just about 5 ft. Yogi Adityanath is the formidable Mahant Avaidyanath's successor at Gorakhpur's Gorakhnath temple. The little mahant is shy and fidgety: now he smiles, now he shouts, now he cleans his nails as others deliver speeches.

He's a stickler for time and also a fast mover. As a panting disciple puts it, mid-chase, "Thore mobile type ke hain (He's very mobile)." Yet, he's clever when he chooses to be. When you wonder if sadhus should be in politics, he is ready with a deadpan repartee: "Hmm ... and Phoolan Devi should be." Baby faces can be deceptive.

The campaign is exacting, but Adityanath is used to it. After all, he only "sleeps from 11.30 p.m. to 3.30 a.m.". What's the secret of the little man's energy?

Perhaps his pre-dawn yoga. No wonder he can drive untiringly from village to village, talking of stability, cow slaughter and Kashmir. Not surprisingly these were also the pet themes of Mahants Digvijaynath and Avaidyanath, his predecessors in the mutt -- and perhaps in the Lok Sabha too?

-- Ashok Malik

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