Yogi Adityanath, the saffron-robed Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, is having his office building painted in his favourite colour.
His government’s headquarters the Lal Bahadur Shastri Bhawan in Lucknow, for decades seen only in white or off-white, is getting a white-and-saffron colour scheme for the first time, officials have confirmed. Besides a bright new coat of paint, the building is also getting repairs.
The Chief Minister’s office is on the fifth floor of the building, popularly known as Pancham Tal.
Yogi Adityanath, who is always seen in saffron, is known for his predilection for the colour and appears to surround himself with it wherever he travels.
In meetings or press conferences, a saffron-coloured towel always drapes his chair while for everyone else, it is white.
Even booklets and posters issued by the government’s public relations department and ministries have some element of saffron on cover pages.
Three weeks ago, Yogi Adityanath launched a fleet of 50 state-run buses that were painted saffron and cream. The bus service, called Sankalp, has been launched to connect the interiors of Uttar Pradesh, and has started in Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Allahabad, Bareilly and Moradabad.
Earlier this year, saffron towels, curtains and covers were sent to the home of a martyr just before the Chief Minister’s visit. The change of decor was only temporary and vanished soon after he left.
Yogi Adityanath took over as Chief Minister of India’s most populous state after his party, the BJP, won a massive victory in polls in March.
