20.3.17

Yogi joins Single CMs' Club


Priest-turned politician Yogi Adityanath, 44, who was sworn in as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, now joins Trivendra Singh Rawat, 56, (Uttarakhand), M L Khattar, 62 ,(Haryana), Sarbananda Sonowal, 54, (Assam) and 70-year-old BJD chief Naveen Patnaik (Odisha) in the league of singletons running state governments. Barring Patnaik and 62-year-old TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal,) all the chief ministers, who are unencumbered by a family, are from the BJP. Mamata, who is currently serving her second term, has often claimed in public that she has dedicated her entire life to the people of Bengal and has no time for thinking about herself.

Among the current crop of top politicians, Rahul Gandhi, 46, the scion of the Congress party, BSP chief Mayawati, 61, and senior BJP leader Uma Bharti, 57, are unmarried.

Singlehood can even become an article of pride for politicians. “I'm of low caste, I'm unmarried, and I'm yours,“ Mayawati has often proclaimed in election rallies.

Naveen Patnaik, who is ruling Odisha since 2000, is also known for telling his electorate that there is no danger of his government indulging in nepotism as he is unmarried.

Rahul Gandhi when asked about his singlehood ahead of 2014 Lok Sabha polls had replied, “Right now I am engaged in fighting the elections.Unfortunately, I have not been focused on private life.“

Like many RSS activists, Mohan Bhagwat, the chief of the ideological fountainhead of the BJP, decided against tying the knot.

Former PM and BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee never married. He used to underline his bachelor status in public meetings saying that since he has no family, there is no question of nepotism or family rule.

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