Nishad Party to field candidates on its symbol in Majhawan, Katehari by-polls: Sanjay Nishad

Lucknow: Nishad Party, an ally of the BJP-led NDA, on Friday announced to field its candidates on its symbol in the upcoming by-elections for the Majhawan and Katehari Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh.

This was announced in a statement issued by the Nishad Party after its ninth Foundation Day celebrations held in Lucknow on Friday.

Addressing the event, the party's president and Uttar Pradesh Fisheries Minister Sanjay Nishad stated that the party had contested the 2022 Assembly elections on its symbol in Katehari (Ambedkar Nagar district) and Majhawan (Mirzapur district) and would do the same in the upcoming by-elections.

He also urged the party workers to campaign in support of the NDA in the forthcoming elections and ensure victory on all seats.

However, BJP's state spokesperson Harish Chandra Srivastava told PTI, "The NDA leadership makes decisions for all ally parties, including where to contest seats. As for the candidates for the by-elections, no official decision has been announced by the NDA leadership yet."

By-elections are expected to be held soon for 10 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, though the Election Commission is yet to announce the dates.

Political parties, however, have already begun their preparations.

The statement from the Nishad Party is considered significant as the BJP has not yet finalised candidates or allocated seats to its allies for the by-elections.

In the 2022 Assembly elections, the Nishad Party, in alliance with the BJP, fielded Awadhesh Kumar from Katehari, who was defeated by Samajwadi Party's (SP) Lalji Verma. Verma was recently elected as the SP MP from Ambedkar Nagar, leaving the Katehari seat vacant.

Similarly, in Mirzapur district's Majhawan, the Nishad Party's candidate Vinod Kumar Bind defeated SP's Rohit Shukla. Bind was later elected as the BJP MP from the Bhadohi parliamentary constituency, vacating the Majhawan seat.

Nishad emphasised the party was founded to address issues such as the reservation for the Majhwar community and the concerns of the fishing community, and it remains steadfast on these issues. He said discussions with the central and state governments regarding the reservation issue are ongoing and that every meeting with the BJP's top leadership has included talks on this matter.

He further said his party will launch a signature campaign across the state on the issue of reservation.