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From pumping iron to yoga, ministers in UP’s Yogi government resolve to stay fit
The launch of PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Fit India’ found an echo in UP’s Yogi Adityanath ministry where ministers admitted that with 2022 in mind, the need to stay ‘fit’ was even more. From yoga, to burning calories in home gyms, cycling or early morning jog, they are doing everything to stay fit.
Uttar Pradesh’s new sports minister Upendra Tiwari made an interesting resolve on Thursday, the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‘Fit India Movement’.
“In a few months’ time, I would be fit enough to walk again on my hands for at least 50 metres!” he said. Till about a few years back, Tiwari could do that with ease. “Legs up, body resting on my hands, I could travel at least 50 metres. I will do that again, because as a sports minister I have to remain fit and agile,” he says.
Tiwari, a fitness freak who exercises for at least two hours daily, can turn the world on his head at the drop of a hat! Well, that’s his practice of ‘sheershasana’ – the yogic pose where one balances the body on one’s head!
“You will find me visiting each stadium, playing with the players, cheering them up,” he says.
But, then it’s not about one minister alone!
Modi’s words that “the new India should be a fit India” seemed to have inspired ministers of Yogi Aditayanath’s government too.
A FIT ‘YOGI’
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath is a keen fitness enthusiast. His day starts early, without fail.
Rounds of yoga keep him fresh through the maze of meetings and the gruelling schedule he holds through the day.
“Keeping fit is a commitment. Fitness helps us work longer,” he told HT.
“There is no flab in his body. Watch his stomach, it’s as flat as it could be,” says one of his ministers. Adityanath travels light, eats simple and says come what may, early morning exercises and yoga are a must.
Both his deputy chief ministers – Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma – vouch for the need to stay fit. Both do yoga religiously before beginning their day that ends late.
THE MINISTERS
The state’s first Jal Shakti minister Mahendra Singh energy is reflected both in his work as well as his passionate speeches.
The minister attributes this to a disciplined life that includes a regular bout of yoga exercises. “With both PM Narendra Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath ji leading the way in terms of not just leadership but fitness too, we have such high yardsticks to keep pace with,” he says.
Restricted in his exercise routine after being injured in a bomb attack, state’s minister for civil aviation Nand Gopal Gupta ‘Nandi’, however, still does yoga and light exercises as religiously as in the past and spends some time ‘cycling’ in his mini-gym too.
UP’s new health minister Jai Pratap Singh, an early morning regular jogger and cycler at the city’s Lohia park, which is frequented by some other ministers too like Suresh Rana, the minister for sugarcane development, says the emphasis would be on remaining fitter and sharper!
His predecessor Siddharth Nath Singh, the new minister for khadi and village industries department, loves to put on his track suit to jog whenever he can and yes, he appears to be a pro at pumping iron!
“PM’s Fit India campaign of course means a lot for I like to remain in shape,” says Singh who had previously accepted the fitness challenge that PM Modi had launched.
This new-look 56-member ‘Yogi team’ is expected to last till the 2022 UP polls. Hence the ‘Fit India’ movement has an added focus in the state.
Ministers admit that the ‘fitness factor’ was behind the recent expansion and reshuffle of the Yogi ministry.
“I guess my fitness did play a role in my elevation. Regular exercises helped me build stamina to last through meetings and punishing schedules. I could complete my task better,” says Rana, who has been elevated as a cabinet minister in the Yogi government.
The state’s new basic education minister Satish Dwivedi has a ‘yoga routine’ he rarely misses.
“The state’s basic education minister deals with students in their formative years. So, I obviously would make sure that the students see a fitter minister so that they too can imbibe fitness as a key success mantra,” he says.
Industries minister Satish Mahana adds another dimension to the fitness talk.
“It helps one remain cool under pressure, a key attribute for success,” he says adding the fitness craze is increasing.
Talk fitness and energy minister Shrikant Sharma smiles.
“As energy minister, I need more energy and that’s why for me it has even more importance,” he says about his 18-hour gruelling schedule.
Then, there is Mohsin Raza, the cricketer-turned-politician and the Muslim face of the Yogi government who says fitness comes naturally to him.
“From cricket to politics, much has changed for me. One thing that hasn’t changed is my fitness regimen. As politicians, we need to stay even fitter, reason why the ‘Fit India’ launch is special to me,” says Raza.
