Rajasthan's Yogi: Who is Balak Nath, the BJP's potential CM candidate?

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has attained a comprehensive victory in Rajasthan, securing 115 seats out of 199 seats contested. Congress was at a distant second with 69 seats (68 wins and 1 lead). Elections to 199 seats in the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly were held on November 25.

These numbers contradicted several exit-polls figures, which had indicated a neck-to-neck battle in Rajasthan where Congress was expected to put on a good fight against BJP.

However, results surprised the pollsters as the BJP raced ahead on the counting day. One of the biggest reasons for BJP’s win can be attributed to the fact that the party refrained from projecting former CM Vasundhara Raje as the CM face, and instead fought elections on PM Narendra Modi’s name.

The party knew that Vasundhara’s popularity had waned over the last few years, and it wasn’t safe to project her as CM face.

Now that BJP has won, the party has to announce a CM choice who will head the government in the next five years. Among the top runners for the post is a priest, Balak Nath, a saffron-clad figure, who impersonates UP’s Yogi Adityanath and has been in controversies with his remarks.

Who is Balak Nath?

• He was among several MPs asked to contest assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Baba Balak Nath became an MP from Alwar, Rajasthan in the 2019 General Elections.
• In the 2023 assembly elections, Balanath secured victory in the Tijara constituency, one of the eight assembly segments from Alwar, defeating his nearest rival, Congress’s Imran Khan, by 6,173 votes.
• Balak Nath garnered 1,10,209 votes against Imran Khan’s 1,04,036. His association with the BJP began in 2014 when he joined the party.
• He was the disciple of late Mahant Chand Nath Yogi, former BJP MP from Alwar and Mahant of Baba Mastnath Math in Haryana’s Rohtak.
• Before Chand Nath's passing in 2017, he had declared Balak Nath as his successor. His position as a temple head made him the BJP’s favored choice as an MP in Rajasthan, and he emerged victorious in his initial attempt.
• Balak Nath is known to have amassed a considerable following among the people of Alwar in recent years, recognized for his saffron-style politics, akin to Yogi Adityanath's approach in Uttar Pradesh (UP).

BJP’s probable choice for Rajasthan's CM post

• Balak Nath would likely be among the front-runners for the CM post in Rajasthan if the party aims to replicate the UP style of politics in the state.
• Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath had campaigned for Balak Nath in the Tijara constituency, urging people to vote for the priest.

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• Balak Nath stirred controversy by likening his contest against Congress's Imran Khan to an “India-Pakistan” match. While the party hasn't officially declared Balak Nath as the CM face in Rajasthan yet, his participation in the assembly elections, despite being an MP, suggests that the party has plans for him in the state.

• In addition to Balak Nath, another BJP MP, Diya Kumari, who contested the assembly elections and emerged victorious in Rajasthan’s Vidhyadhar constituency, is also in contention for the CM post.