UP Polls: UP CM Yogi To Contest From "Gorakhpur" Not Ayodhya

UP Govt. faced internal dissidence after 10 BJP MLAs left

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh is on fire ahead of the upcoming election coming next month. Every party is preparing to win the hearts of the UP citizens. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will contest next month's Assembly election from the Gorakhpur (Urban) seat, the BJP said Saturday afternoon, as it released its first list of candidates.

Polling for the Gorakhpur (Urban) seat, which is the Chief Minister's fort and voted him to the Lok Sabha for five straight terms till 2017, will be on March 3 - the sixth and penultimate phase.

According to Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters, "The decision has been made after much deliberation... the final decision (was taken) by the top leadership of the party."

Earlier, there were grapevines about UP Chief Minister's content areas. There was speculation that the Chief Minister - who has never stood in an Assembly election before - would contest from one of two temple towns - Ayodhya or Mathura.

This was after the BJP's core group said interest in fielding Yogi from these seats, especially after the eastern part of the state has been seen as drifting away from the party.

The UP Govt. has already faced internal dissidence after 10 of its Uttar Pradesh MLAs, including three ministers, walked out of the team Yogi this week.

Fielding Yogi from Ayodhya, the sources said, checks many of the boxes as the ongoing construction of the Ram temple had boosted the seat's political profile for the ruling party.

It also lets the Chief Minister capitalise on and further build his brand as a Hindutva icon. The temple town falls in the Awadh region, where rivals Samajwadi Party have been traditionally strong.