There is a superstition that any chief minister who visits Noida does not return to power. As a result, several political leaders have steered clear of the millennium city in the past.
But on Saturday, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath thumbed his nose at the so-called “Noida jinx” when he arrived there ahead of the inauguration of the Kalkaji Mandir-Botanical Garden segment of Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line.
The saffron leader landed in Noida Saturday evening, two days before Prime Minister was set to arrive in the city to flag off the first public run of the Magenta Line metro. He then proceeded to inspect the Botanical Garden metro station in the Gautam Buddh Nagar district.
On Monday, he once again returned to the city to join PM Modi, Governor Ram Naik, and other ministers to inaugurate the Magenta Line. Yogi said that he had put paid to the Noida jinx once and for all and assured people that henceforth, he’d be visiting the city on a frequent basis.
The Prime Minister lauded the UP chief minister for defying superstition and said there was no room for “blind faith” in governance. “I am very happy. Due to his dress, few people find it fashionable to believe that CM Yogi Adityanath is not ‘modern enough’ but it is Yogi Adityanath Ji who has done what CMs of UP never did- he came to Noida. Faith is important but blind faith is not desirable,” PM Modi said at a public gathering in Noida after flagging off the newly-commissioned metro line.
He recalled that people had advised him against visiting certain places when he became Gujarat CM. PM Modi had then determined to visit all those places to bust the myth surrounding them, much like Yogi Adityanath was doing now.
Adityanath’s visit to Noida was significant, as it was the first visit by the chief minister of the state after a gap of eight years.The superstition began with then chief minister Veer Bahadur Singh, who was asked to step down in June 1988 by the central leadership. Interestingly, he had just returned from Noida, when he was asked to relinquish office.
Yogi Adityanath’s predecessor Akhilesh Yadav stayed away from Noida during his tenure as Chief Minister. BSP chief Mayawati visited the city several times between 2007-12 when her party was in power, but she went on to lose the assembly election in 2012. Former CMs Mulayam Singh Yadav, Kalyan Singh, and Rajnath Singh had also given a wide berth to the city.
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