by Ajay Kumar
Lucknow: For those preparing for competitive exams, it’s time to update your general knowledge. If asked about the longest-serving Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, the name of Congress leader Sampurnanand will no longer be relevant. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has broken Sampurnanand’s record for the longest tenure as Chief Minister. Yogi Adityanath has surpassed former Chief Ministers Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati, and Akhilesh Yadav, setting a new record for the longest continuous tenure.
Yogi Adityanath has now become the Chief Minister with the longest tenure since independence, having served for a continuous 7 years and 148 days. Previously, Congress Chief Minister Dr. Sampurnanand held the longest tenure from December 28, 1954, to December 7, 1960. Additionally, Yogi Adityanath has also become the first Chief Minister to hoist the national flag at the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Bhavan for the eighth consecutive time.
Regional party leaders like Chaudhary Charan Singh, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati, and Akhilesh Yadav are now nowhere near Yogi Adityanath on this list. Mayawati took oath as Chief Minister four times, and Mulayam Singh Yadav three times, but neither managed to break this record. Moreover, Yogi Adityanath is among those leaders under whom a party formed a consecutive government in the state. When Yogi took the oath of office on March 25, 2022, he broke the 37-year-old record held by Narayan Datt Tiwari, who had taken the oath for the second time as Chief Minister of undivided Uttar Pradesh in 1985.
Yogi Adityanath has also become the first Chief Minister to hoist the national flag at the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Bhavan on Independence Day for the eighth consecutive time. Although BSP supremo Mayawati took the oath as Chief Minister four times with a total tenure of seven years and 16 days, it was not continuous. During her four terms, she hoisted the flag eight times. Additionally, Mulayam Singh Yadav served as Chief Minister three times, with a total tenure of six years and 274 days.