LUCKNOW: With the 2022 UP assembly polls in sight, the BJP and allies have started the preparatory process for seat sharing. In this connection, the saffron brigade has roped in Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal (Nishad) party to conduct a survey in various districts of eastern and central Uttar Pradesh.
The motive of commencing the exercise with the Nishad party is to identify the seats on which Nishad party nominees will be in a winnable position.
According to Nishad party sources, the survey report would be submitted to BJP national president JP Nadda to finalise the seat-sharing formula for the election.
Recently, Sanjay Nishad had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda in Delhi and had discussed with them a series of issues including seat-sharing in 2022.
It was followed by a high-level meeting at the residence of Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Thursday. BJP national president JP Nadda, UPCM Yogi Adityanath, BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh, BJP state unit president Swatantra Dev Singh and the party’s state general secretary (organisation) Sunil Bansal were present at the meeting to discuss the strategy for the assembly election, the nomination of four MLCs and also the expansion of Yogi cabinet.
As per the claims of the Nishad party, it has sway over around 160 assembly constituencies in eastern and central UP. The party had constituted committees in 70 constituencies for the election, said a senior Nishad party leader.
After the meeting, Sanjay Nishad had said that he had told the BJP leaders that the Nishad party would field candidates in the assembly election. “It was decided that the party will field candidates on the seats where it is in a strong position,” said Nishad.
The entry of Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) led by Bihar animal husbandry minister Mukesh Sahani, Jaalvanshi Morcha led by Gyanendra Nishad, Eklavya Sena run by Umed Singh, husband of bandit-turned politician Phoolan Devi, in the political landscape of UP and trying their luck at the husting as well as the advances of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to the Nishad party were believed to be a part of the discussion at the Thursday meeting.
However, the Nishad party claims that a majority of the fringe organisations have no cadre, unlike the Nishad party which has a strong organisational set up in the districts of eastern UP.
To counter the SP and the BSP, the Nishad party urged the BJP leaders and chief minister Yogi Adityanath to include the Nishad, Majhwar, Kewat, and Mallah communities in the list of scheduled castes and give them reservations in government jobs accordingly, the Nishad Party leader added.
The party also reportedly kept forward its demands of fishermen getting back their rights on ponds, lakes, and rivers across the state that were withdrawn during the BSP rule, and withdrawal of the cases lodged against the Nishad community members during agitations.