Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath on Friday took oath as the Chief Minister of the state for the second time. CM Adityanath made history as the ruling BJP won a comfortable majority of its own beating rival politician Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party. On Friday, 52 ministers were sworn-in by Governor Anandiben Patel. Among these, 31 are first-time ministers who will assist CM Adityanath in efficient governance. Among these 31 fresh faces is Danish Azad Ansari, the only Muslim in the cabinet.
“The BJP recognises the hard work of each and every worker. For me, it is a symbol of trust reposed by the party in its dedicated worker,” Danish was quoted as saying by PTI. Hence, it becomes important for us to know about this self-made, grassroot leader who has earned a place in the state’s administration:
1. Danish Azad is a resident of Ballia district in Azamgarh.
2. After completing school education, Danish took up Bachelor in Communications from Lucknow University in 2006.
3. For his post-graduations, he did Master of Quality Management and Master of Public Administration.
4. He joined ABVP, student wing of the RSS, when he was a student at Lucknow University in 2011.
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5. Danish added Azad to his name as he considers himself as a free-thinker and expresses his thoughts without any hesitation, as per a BBC report.
6. When he was with the ABVP, he was involved in spreading the ideology of the RSS, especially amongst the Muslim youth. This was during the time when ABVP’s sister organization and one of the main national parties, BJP, wasn’t a popular choice amongst the UP public.
7. His efforts were recognized and he was made the general secretary of the minority cell of the BJP’s state unit.
8. Danish belongs to a conservative Muslim background. He has a sister who is married. He himself is unmarried. Both his parents have performed Hajj.
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9. During Yogi 1.0 term, Danish was appointed as a member of the Urdu language committee in October 2018. He was appointed at the level of the Minister of State.
10. Danish is currently neither a member of the Lower or the Upper house of the UP Legislative Assembly. He replaced Mohsin Raza as the state’s Minorities Welfare Minister.
