Mahant Avaidyanath
| Mahant Avaidyanath | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament | |
| Succeeded by | Yogi Adityanath |
| Constituency | Gorakhpur |
| Member of Legislative Assembly | |
| Constituency | Maniram |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Kripal Singh Bisht 28 May 1921 Kandi, Pauri Garhwal district, Uttar Pradesh (now in Uttarakhand) |
| Died | 12 September 2014 (aged 93) Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Occupation | Politician |
Mahant Avaidyanath (born Kripal Singh Bisht, 28 May 1921 – 12 September 2014) was a Hindu preacher and politician. He was the Mahant (chief priest) of Gorakhnath Temple, succeeding his guru Digvijay Nath. He was also a politician of the Hindu Mahasabha and, later Bharatiya Janata Party, being elected to the Lok Sabha from Gorakhpur four times. He played an important role in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. He was the mentor and guru of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Avaidyanath succeeded Mahant Digvijay Nath as the head of Gorakhnath Math and was succeeded by Yogi Adityanath (Ajay Mohan Bisht).
Avaidyanathan was elected MLA from Maniram Assembly segment five times – 1962, 1967, 1968 1974 and 1977. He was elected Lok Sabha member from Gorakhpur as an Independent candidate in 1970 and won again in 1989 as candidate of Hindu Mahasabha. He was elected MP from the same seat in 1991 and 1996 as Bharatiya Janata Party nominee.
Mahant Avaidyanath was a leader of the Ram Janmabhoomi 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. He was critical of all politicians, including Atal Behari Vajpayee, seeking to construct a Hindu vote bank via religious cause.
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