Hindu hardliner Yogi Adityanath, who is seeking re-election as chief minister of India's most populous state, touted his record on fighting crime and putting law and order above religion and caste in a rare interview with Western media.

The 49-year-old monk from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been criticised in the past by opposition figures and the Muslim minority for a Hindu-first agenda that has inflamed communal tensions.

His state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) is home to 200 million people...