Uttar Pradesh is gearing up for Friday when Yogi Adityanath takes oath as the chief minister of the state for the second time. Earlier in the day, he was unanimously chosen as the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) legislature party in the presence of Union home minister and party's central observer in Uttar Pradesh Amit Shah.
Pictures captured from outside Ekana Stadium in Lucknow showed saffron clothes wrapped around the iron gates along with massive hoardings carrying pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Adityanath.
In the meeting of newly elected BJP MLAs held at Lok Bhawan, Lucknow earlier in the day, senior party leader Suresh Kumar Khanna proposed the name of Adityanath as the leader of the legislature party. Surya Pratap Shahi and Baby Rani Maurya were among those who seconded the proposal.
Addressing the MLAs, Adityanath said he wants to thank PM Modi, Shah and party's central co-observer Raghubar Das that after getting absolute majority, he was elected the saffron camp's legislature party leader.
{{/usCountry}}Addressing the MLAs, Adityanath said he wants to thank PM Modi, Shah and party's central co-observer Raghubar Das that after getting absolute majority, he was elected the saffron camp's legislature party leader.
{{/usCountry}}"People for the first time felt that house for the poor could also be built. For the first time, it was felt that money can go directly into the account of the poor," he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Following this meeting, Adityanath went to Raj Bhavan in Lucknow to meet governor of Uttar Pradesh Anandiben Patel.
Meanwhile, the grand swearing-in ceremony of Adityanath will feature several prominent faces from various walks of life, including the filmmaker of ‘The Kashmir Files’ Vivek Agnihotri and actor Anupam Kher, PTI reported.
More than 60 business tycoons, including Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, have been invited to watch Adityanath swear-in as the chief minister of the northern state for the second time.
"We are inviting industrialists who will be keen to set up industries in UP. Religious leaders are being invited to seek their blessings for the government to work for the people of the state in the next five years," former BJP chief Laxmikant Bajpai told news agency ANI.
Around 85,000 people will attend the mega event that is scheduled to start at 4pm on Friday.
PM Modi, Shah, union ministers Rajnath Singh, Dharmendra Pradhan, Anurag Thakur, and BJP national president JP Nadda, are other chief guests who will be present at tomorrow's ceremony.
Lucknow Traffic Police has, meanwhile, chalked up alternative routes for diversion in view of the swearing-in ceremony. These diversions will come into effect at 7am (for heavy vehicles) and 9 am (for small vehicles) and remain in place till 10pm, the police said. Taking to Twitter, the police also shared three helpline numbers - 9454405155, 6389304141 and 6389304242, for citizens to contact should they face any traffic-related problem.