Form of words:
Lucknow: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will contest the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in alliance with the Nishad Party.
Union minister and BJP’s UP election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan made the announcement on Friday during a press conference at the party’s state headquarters, where Nishad Party chief Sanjay Nishad was also present.
“We had an alliance with Nishad Party in (2019) Lok Sabha elections and today we are formally announcing that BJP will fight 2022 UP elections in alliance with Nishad Party,” Pradhan said.
“Apna Dal is also with us. The 2022 election will be fought under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. After spending three days in UP, I can say with full confidence that people have unwavering faith in PM Modi and CM Yogi.
Pradhan said the seat-sharing formula would be finalized later.
However, a source close to the BJP told ThePrint that the Nishad Party is currently preparing to contest a dozen seats in Purvanchal.
“The Nishad Party chief will soon be nominated as one of the MLCs on the four vacant seats in the Legislative Council. Till now he was asked to prepare for a dozen seats in Purvanchal.
Read also: Faced with Jat-Muslim unity in UP, BJP’s election strategy targets farmers and caste equations
Nishad-BJP alliance
Nishad Party contested the 2018 Gorakhpur by-election in alliance with Samajwadi Party and won.
However, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Nishad Party had an alliance with the BJP.
Sanjay Nishad’s son Praveen Kumar, who contested on a BJP ticket from Sant Kabir Nagar, won. In the last few months, Nishad has met Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President JP Nadda at least thrice. discussion on the upcoming elections.
Who is Nishad?
NS Nishad community It comprises 22 sub-castes, which are collectively dominant on the banks of the Ganges and Yamuna.
there has been demands To be reclassified by the community from Other Backward Classes (OBC) to Scheduled Tribes.
Speaking to ThePrint a few days ago, Nishad said that he too discussed the issue with Shah.
“Districts like Mau, Azamgarh, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Sant Kabir Nagar and Prayagraj account for between 14 and 17 per cent of the Nishad population. UP has densely populated villages on the banks of Ganga and Yamuna, where Nishads reside and their vote can influence the outcome of elections in the state.
He said the party was preparing to contest three dozen seats in that region.
“These smaller parties have a significant vote bank in eastern UP. The BJP certainly does not want to lose him,” said Shilp Shikha Singh, political analyst and assistant professor at the Giri Institute of Development Studies in Lucknow.
“Nishads, Rajbhars, Kurmis, among others, are also important in many constituencies. In eastern UP, he can swing elections in many seats. Therefore their importance is huge. They can help out more when the competition is near. 10,000-12,000 votes sometimes change the election.
(Edited by Neha Mahajan)
Read also: Mathura, Kashi, Ayodhya and more in BJP’s new plan for OBC outreach in UP
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