India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday nominated Yogi Adityanath, a firebrand BJP leader known for his radical views on Muslims, as the new chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, The Hindustan Times reported.
Opposition parties’ criticised the ruling party’s decision to select the Hindu hardliner to lead the country’s most populous state.
Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state of India, with a population of more than 200 million. Muslims form around 19pc of the population.
The chief minister-designate also runs an extremist organisation, Hindu Yuva Vahini, which has been accused of instigating communal tension, said The Hindu.
He describes himself as a “religious missionary and social worker” on his Lok Sabha profile.
During the recent elections in the highly-polarised state, he had stirred controversy by making claims of discrimination against Hindus and stoked anti-Muslim sentiments.
He had alleged discrimination in the supply of power to Hindu and Muslim festivals and also in the allocation of land for graveyards and crematoriums.
Adityanath has also been accused of spearheading a forced conversion initiative, called Ghar Wapsi, which targeted Muslims and Christians.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders are expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony on Sunday.
