A total of 60 business tycoons including Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani have been invited to watch Yogi Adityanath take oath as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh for a second time.
The saffron-robed BJP leader will be sworn in at 4 pm Friday at a grand ceremony with prime minister Narendra Modi present. Also present will be home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh, BJP president JP Nadda and chief ministers of several BJP-ruled states, in addition to dozens of other high-profile guests.
According to ex-UP BJP chief Laxmikant Bajpai, leading industrialists had been invited as they have a role in creating employment and boosting the state’s economy.
“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,” he said.
Adityanath has invited over 50 seers, including those from UP temple towns of Ayodhya, Mathura and Varanasi, the prime minister’s constituency.
Other prominent names on the list includes Vivek Agnihotri, director of the controversial The Kashmir Files and movie star Anupam Kher.
Senior opposition leaders have also been invited, including Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Samajwadi chief Akhilesh Yadav and party founder Mulayam Yadav have also been called, as have Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati.
As a show of strength, the BJP has planned a glitzy event in state capital Lucknow after romping to victory in last month’s election.
The ceremony will be held at the Ekana stadium in Lucknow. Elaborate arrangements are being made at the venue, which has the capacity to seat around 50,000. Reports indicate the whole stadium has been decked out with lights, with cut-outs of the prime minister, Amit Shah and Yogi ubiquitous.
On Thursday evening Adityanath was voted as leader of the BJP’s legislative party and elected chief minister by his MLAs – both mere formalities.
