Mahant Avaidyanath

Mahant Avaidyanath
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office December 1989 – March 1998 (3 times)
Preceded by	Madan Pandey
Succeeded by	Yogi Adityanath
Constituency	Gorakhpur
In office January 1970 – March 1971
Preceded by	Mahant Digvijay Nath
Succeeded by	Narsingh Narain Pandey
Member of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly
In office March 1962 – February 1980 (5 times)
Preceded by	Keshav Pandey
Succeeded by	Haridwar Pandey
Constituency	Maniram
Personal details
Born	Kripal Singh Bisht (1921-05-28)28 May 1921 Kandi, Garhwal District, United Provinces, British India (present-day Pauri Garhwal district, Uttrakhand)
Died	12 September 2014(2014-09-12) (aged 93) Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Occupation	Politician, monk
Personal
Religion	Hinduism
Denomination	Shaivism
School	Yoga
Lineage	Guru Gorakhnath
Sect	Nath Sampradaya
Organization
Temple	Gorakhnath Math
Religious career
Guru	Mahant Digvijaynath
Period in office	1969–2014
Predecessor	Mahant Digvijaynath
Successor	Yogi Adityanath
Disciples Yogi Adityanath
Ordination	1969
Post	Mahant

Mahant Avaidyanath (born Kripal Singh Bisht, 28 May 1921–12 September 2014) was an Indian politician and the head priest (Mahant) of the Gorakhnath Math, a prominent Hindu temple.^[1] He was a member of the Hindu Mahasabha and, later Bharatiya Janata Party; and got elected to the Indian parliament (Lok Sabha) from Gorakhpur four times. He played an important role in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. He is better known as the mentor and guru of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.^[1][2]