What's in a name? Well, if you are Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, referred to as “Maharaj-ji” by his disciples and followers, it means a lot. Or so it seems – as the way the name of the new Chief Minister is written – has been changed three times since he took oath on 19 March.
On the day he took over as the 21st Chief Minister of the most populous state of the country, the nameplate of the firebrand BJP leader read "Adityanath Yogi".
This was in line with the official name taken by the Gorakhpur MP, who read out his name as Adityanath Yogi, while taking the oath in front of thousands of supporters and a bevy of politicians led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah.
A few days later, when "purification" of the sprawling Chief Minister's official house was being done by priests, specially called from Gorakhnath Mutt in Gorakhpur, the name on the plate was changed to 'Aditya Nath Yogi'. This sent the media, and also the officials, into a tizzy, wondering what were the reasons for change.
All official communiques emanating from the Chief Minister's Office subsequently used this changed name.
Now, for the third time, his name has been changed to 'Yogi Adityanath', the name initially used by many, especially in the media.
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While stumped officials told IANS that they were unaware of the reason behind this latest change, a senior official confirmed that this is the "new and final nomenclature" of the Chief Minister.
In a communique regarding distribution of departments to new ministers, the Raj Bhavan also referred to the Chief Minister as Yogi Adityanath.
Ok then, till the next change.
(The story first appeared on The News Minute and has been republished with permission.)
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