'Bulldozer baba'-Mighty Yogi's new sobriquet

LUCKNOW: As the counting of votes in Uttar Pradesh elections began Thursday morning, a meme in Hindi started doing the rounds on social media -- "A massive road accident in Uttar Pradesh as a bulldozer decimates an oncoming speeding bicycle". By the evening, the politically loaded meme -- which conveyed that the Samajwadi Party (bicycle being its polls symbol) has been routed by the might of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath (or "bulldozer baba") -- went viral on social media.

Adityanath, who is generally referred to as "Maharaj ji", earned this new sobriquet of "bulldozer baba" during the current elections due to his frequent reference of the heavy machine which his dispensation deployed to raze the ill-gotten property of criminals and mafias in the state.

As the election results and trends showed a clear BJP majority in Uttar Pradesh, party supporters in several parts of the state joined victory celebrations with bulldozers.

In Lucknow, Varanasi and Adityanath's own Gorakhpur, enthusiastic party supporters were seen taking out victory processions on bulldozers and chanting slogan "bulldozer baba zindabad (long live bulldozer baba)" in praise of Adityanath.

Outside the BJP office in the state capital of Lucknow, some excited supporters were spotted riding on a bulldozer with saffron flags to celebrate the party's victory in the elections.

Sumant Kashyap, an ardent BJP supporter, had fixed a toy bulldozer on his headgear.

In Gorakhpur, from where Adityanath was in fray, supporters took out a victory procession with a fleet of bulldozers with BJP flags affixed on them to express their happiness.

They were shouting slogans like "bulldozer baba zindabad" and "goonj raha hai ek hi naam bulldozer baba

Jai Shri Ram

."

Similarly in Varanasi, BJP supporters hit the streets with bulldozer, raising slogans in favour of Adityanath.

Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma said in a statement that people have set off a "bulldozer of votes" over staunch dynasts, casteism, criminalisation and regionalism of the opponents.

Adityanath gets 'baba' reference in his name as he is the head of Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur.

He invoked bulldozer in his several election speeches, saying these heavy machines have gone for "maintenance" during the polls and would again roll out after the party returns to power.

In some rallies, bulldozers were seen parked at the venue of Adityanath public meetings in different places.