Mahant Avaidyanath (born Kripal Singh Bisht, 28 May 1921 – 12 September 2014) was an Indian politician and

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

preacher. He was the

Mahant Mahant () is a religious superior, in particular the chief of a temple or the head of a monastery in Indian religions. James Mallinson, one of the few westerners to be named as a mahant, describes the position of a mahant as a combination of an ...

(chief priest) of

Gorakhnath Temple The Shri Gorakhnath Mandir also known as Gorakhnath Temple is a temple of the Nath monastic order group of the Nath tradition. The name Gorakhnath derives from the medieval saint, Gorakshanath (c. 11th century), a yogi who travelled widely acro ...

, succeeding his guru Digvijay Nath. He was also a politician of the

Hindu Mahasabha The Hindu Mahasabha (officially Akhil Bhārat Hindū Mahāsabhā, ) is a Hindu nationalist political party in India. Founded in 1915, the Mahasabha functioned mainly as a pressure group advocating the interests of orthodox Hindus before the B ...

and, later

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

, being elected to the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

from

Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the Rapti river in the Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometers east of the state capital Lucknow. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur dist ...

four times. He played an important role in the

Ram Janmabhoomi Ram Janmabhoomi (literally, "Rama's birthplace") is the site that is hypothesized to be the birthplace of Rama, believed to be the seventh avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu. The Ramayana states that the location of Rama's birthplace is on the ...

movement. He was the mentor and guru of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

Chief Minister

Yogi Adityanath Yogi Adityanath (born on 5 June 1972 as Ajay Singh Bisht),

.As Yogi Adityanath's Village Celebrates His Rise, Advice From His Father
NDTV News, 20 March 2017.

Career

Religious

Avaidyanath succeeded ''

'' Digvijay Nath as the head of

Gorakhnath Math The Shri Gorakhnath Mandir also known as Gorakhnath Temple is a temple of the Nath monastic order group of the Nath tradition. The name Gorakhnath derives from the medieval saint, Gorakshanath (c. 11th century), a yogi who travelled widely acro ...

. Upon his death in 2014, he was succeeded by

Yogi Adityanath Yogi Adityanath (born on 5 June 1972 as Ajay Singh Bisht),

(Ajay Mohan Bisht).

Political

Avaidyanath was elected MLA from Maniram Assembly segment five times – 1962, 1967, 1969 (resigned mid-term), 1974 and 1977, variously as Independent or Hindu Mahasabha's or Janata Party's candidate. He was elected Lok Sabha member from

as an Independent candidate in 1970 but lost 1971 General Election when Indira wave swept India. He won again in 1989 as candidate of

. He was elected MP from the same seat in 1991 and 1996 as

nominee. He retired from electoral politics after that, and his protege Yogi Adityanath was elected to Lok Sabha in 1998 General Election.

Religio-political

Mahant Avaidyanath was a leader of the

movement, founding the ''Sri Ramjanmabhoomi Mukti Yagna Samiti'' (Committee of sacrifice to liberate Ram's birthplace) in 1984. In September of that year, the ''Samiti'' launched a "religious procession with Hindu nationalist slogans" from Sitamarhi in Bihar to Ayodhya, with the mission of 'liberating' the Ram temple. Avaidyanath gave sermons exhorting the listeners to give votes only to those parties that promised to liberate the Hindu sacred places.

Death

He died on 12 September 2014 in

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

said he was "Saddened over the demise of Mahant Avaidyanath ji. He will be remembered for his patriotic zeal and determined efforts to serve society." Home Minister

Rajnath Singh Rajnath Singh (; born 10 July 1951) is an Indian politician serving as the Defence Minister of India. He is currently the Deputy Leader of the House Lok Sabha. He is the former President of Bharatiya Janata Party. He has previously served as t ...

and UP BJP president

Laxmikant Bajpai Laxmikant Bajpai (born 20 July 1951) is an Indian politician and former State President of BJP's Uttar Pradesh unit. He was elected four times as member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly from Meerut assembly constituency. Education He ...

also sent condolences on his death.

Commemoration

A stamp is being released to mark the first death anniversary of Avaidyanath, who was also spiritual father of the current UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. He died on 12 September 2014 at the age of 93.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avaidyanath, Mahant Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Uttar Pradesh People from Gorakhpur India MPs 1967–1970 India MPs 1989–1991 Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh India MPs 1991–1996 India MPs 1996–1997 Uttar Pradesh MLAs 1962–1967 Indian Hindu missionaries 1921 births 2014 deaths Hindu Mahasabha politicians