LUCKNOW: As the 2022 battle for UP is approaching, Lucknow is witnessing the re-alignment of political forces on each passing day. On Friday, while BJP sealed its alliance with Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Apna Dal (Nishad) for the upcoming polls, two former senior leaders of Bahujan Samaj Party -- Lalji Verma and Ram Achal Rajbhar -- met Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav at SP headquarters.
Putting all the speculations of the rift to end, Union Minister and BJP’s UP poll in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan made the formal announcement that the ruling party would contest the upcoming state assembly elections in alliance with Nishad Party and Apna Dal under the leadership of Yogi Adityanath.
Significantly, Nishad (boatmen) community and associated 15 sub-castes make a major 15% chunk of OBC voters in Uttar Pradesh, especially, in the eastern region.
"We reiterate that we are together for the forthcoming UP elections," announced Pradhan, while addressing a press conference at the UP BJP office. Flanked by UP BJP chief Swatantra Deo Singh and Nishad party chief Dr Sanjay Nishad, Pradhan said that the seat-sharing formula with the alliance partner had been finalized and would be announced "at a right time”.
As per the informed sources, the ruling party is likely to accommodate Sanjay Nishad further by nominating him to the UP Legislative Council. However, Sanjay Nishad had been making the claim of demanding a major chunk of seats from BJP as his party had a swaying clout on at least 60 seats in eastern UP.
Elaborating on the strategy based on the principle of what he called Samajik Samrasta, Pradhan said that the BJP was making efforts to rope in other smaller parties with NDA.
Nishad had been meeting the BJP top brass including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda for quite some time in connection with the alliance.
In the 2017 assembly elections, the Nishad party had contested 72 seats but had won just one from Gyanpur getting a 3.58% vote share of the total seats contested.
However, later in the 2018 Lok Sabha bypoll, Sanjay Nishad got his presence acknowledged when his son Praveen Nishad won as a BSP-supported SP candidate from Gorakhpur, the bastion of Yogi Adityanath.
However, in the 2019 elections, Sanjay Nishad made a dramatic switch over to BJP and his son Praveen contested and won as the party candidate from Sant Kabir Nagar.
In the opposition camp too, the day was marked much activity when expelled BSP leaders of stature Lalji Verma and Ram Achal Rajbhar met Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Both Verma and Rajbhar were expelled by BSP chief Mayawati in October 2020 for anti-party activities. This followed the speculations of both leaders joining the SP in June, this year.
While Rajbhar has been a five-time MLA from Akabarpur seat and had held the post of the Speaker during the BSP regime in UP, Lalji Verma, an MLA from Katahari seat in Ambedkarnagar, was the leader of the BSP legislature party in the house in UP when expelled. Both the leaders had been with the BSP since its inception.