Gorakhpur, March 3 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will lead a procession of Lord Narasimha in Gorakhpur on Holi, the government said in a statement on Tuesday.
The procession on Wednesday will begin from Ghantaghar under the banner of the Shri Holikotsav Committee and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Continuing a decades-old tradition, Adityanath will lead the procession in his capacity as Gorakshpeethadhishwar, the statement said.
Adityanath led the procession from 1996 to 2019.
In 2020 and 2021, he did not participate in the Holi celebrations due to the COVID pandemic. Normal activities resumed in 2022.
The procession was first carried out in 1944 by RSS pracharak Nanaji Deshmukh during his stay in Gorakhpur.
Under the guidance of the late Mahant Digvijayanath, Mahant Avaidyanath began representing the Peeth in the procession, making it an integral part of the Gorakshpeeth's Holi celebrations.
Today, its popularity is comparable only to the Holi in Mathura and Vrindavan.
The procession, which covers a distance of more than five kilometers, is managed by RSS volunteers.
Riding on Lord Narasimha's chariot, the Gorakshpeethadhishwar, immersed in colors, exchanges greetings with the people.
The celebration under Gorakshpeethadhishwar Yogi Adityanath will begin at the Gorakhnath Temple with a ceremonial tilak from the ash from Holika Dahan.