Political Activity
The Gorakhnath Math has been involved in political matters for decades. Avaidyanath had earlier been a leader of the rightist party, the Hindu Mahasabha, and had served in Parliament from Gorakhpur for four terms. Yogi Adityanath has been active in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and has moulded the Hindu forces in the region by a combination of alliances cutting across caste lines, and by raising demands for better economic livelihood.
Adityanath has been the Member of Parliament (MP) from the Gorakhpur (Lok Sabha Constituency) since 1998, and has emerged as a major power center in Uttar Pradesh. He founded the Hindu Yuva Vahini (Hindu Youth Force). The group has also been involved in much communally sensitive activity, including the Mau riots of October 2005 and the Gorakhpur riots of January 2007. The region was earlier known for its strong Hindu-Muslim ties; there were no riots here even after Babri Masjid.
In the General elections of 2007, the Hindu Yuva Vahini was at one point contemplating running the elections on its own, but finally a compromise was reached with the BJP.
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