Lok Sabha bypolls: Yogi's Gorakhpur successor Upendra Shukla, the outsider

Shukla was instrumental in securing huge wins for BJP in the Purvanchal region during the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, 2017

The Bharatiya Janta Party has chosen Upendra Shukla to contest from the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat vacated by Yogi Adityanath when he became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

This is the first time Sukhla will be trying his luck in electoral politics. Also, interestingly, it is for the first time in over three decades that the BJP has picked someone from outside the Gorakhnath temple to vie for the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat, according to a report in the Indian Express. For the past 29 years, Gorakhpur has been represented in the Lok Sabha by head priests