Gorakhnath Math power tussle gets political colour

“I have decided to contest the election not against anyone but to re-fuel the development of Gorakhpur,which has come to practically a standstill in last 10 years,” Kailashnath told The Indian Express.

Kailashnath did not name any political outfit which would support him,only saying that parties should know better how to fight fire with fire. Sources close to Kailashnath claimed he was close to several national political leaders including Ram Vilas Paswan and Lalu Prasad.

But the 37-year-old Adityanath is unperturbed. “Every time elections are announced,he becomes active. In 2004,he could get a mere 50 votes against me,so let him make big claims. His presence will not make any difference to Gorakhpur politics,” he said.

Known for hardcore Hindu politics,though Adityanath has been contesting elections on BJP tickets,he does his independent politics in Gorakhpur. His Hindu Yuva Vahini has its own following. He was instrumental in the defeat of BJP candidate Shiv Pratap Shukla in the last Assembly elections when he openly supported Hindu Maha Sabha candidate Radha Mohan Agarwal.

Although Adityanath had clean sweeps in the past three parliamentary elections,he could run into rough weather this time with other prominent candidates expected to eat into his Brahmin votes that have been instrumental in his earlier victories.

Apart from Kailashnath’s stakes,the Bahujan Samaj Party has announced the name of Vinay Shankar Tiwari — the son of don-turned-politician of eastern UP Hari Shankar Tiwari — who has the support of Brahmin and Dalit votes. And the Samajwadi Party has declared Bhojpuri film star and singer Manoj Tiwari as its candidate.