Yogi Adityanath will inaugurate the Noida-Kalkaji metro line along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Yogi Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh's 45-year-old Chief Minister is hoping to break the so-called Noida 'jinx' that has scared most of the state's top bosses from visiting the satellite city near Delhi for nearly three decades. Ms Mayawati was the only Chief Minister to have ventured to Noida in 2011 when she flew in from Lucknow in a chopper to inaugurate a Rs 685-crore memorial park.
She lost the next assembly elections and her successor, Akhilesh Yadav, otherwise considered to be technology-savvy politician, gave in to the superstition that has survived in Uttar Prades's politics for decades: That a Chief Minister who visits Noida can write off returning to power. Mr Yadav didn't, but still lost in this year's elections that swept the BJP to power with a landslide win.
Yogi Adityanath will be travelling to Noida on December 25 for the inauguration of the Noida-Kalkaji Metro line. He will receive Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will also be there to flag off the metro service, according to information received by Noida district authorities, news agency IANS reported.
But the monk-politician had dropped enough hints that he wouldn't let the superstition stand in the way when he declared his intention to travel to each of the 75 districts to review the law and order situation. Noida wasn't on the top of his list and the Chief Minister is said to have ticked most of the other districts.
The BJP said this was proof that the Chief Minister wasn't such a superstitious person.
"While the Chief Minister was a deeply religious man he did not subscribe to superstitions, and he was only inspired by development and welfare of the people of Uttar Pradesh," BJP spokesman Chandramohan said.
The superstition dates back to the late '80s. ND Tiwari and Veer Bahadur Singh were voted out within a month of their entering Noida. It is why Mulayam Singh, then Chief Minister, refused to visit the area in 2006 when it was reeling from the discovery of the bones and skulls of little children discovered in a drain in Nithari.
In 2002, Rajnath Singh, as Chief Minister, inaugurated a flyover linking Noida and Delhi - but ensured that he stayed on Delhi's side of the border.
Akhilesh Yadav, who was determined not to repeat Ms Mayawati's mistake, had even skipped two mega events in the town including the foundation stone of a Delhi-Meerut Expressway that was attended by PM Narendra Modi. Mr Yadav, asked why he avoided travelling to Noida, had promised to make the visit after his re-election in the assembly election.