Sanjay Nishad, President of the Nishad Party. | Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena
With less than a year left for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, the demand for Scheduled Caste (SC) status for the Nishad and other related sub-castes has gathered momentum. Indian Nishad Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal (Nishad) party president and Uttar Pradesh state minister Sanjay Nishad has pushed for the inclusion of riverine communities in the Scheduled Caste (SC) list, calling it right and vowing to fight for it.
Addressing a rally on March 22 in Gorakhpur, he said: “Our population should be counted among the scheduled castes. This is our constitutional right. I will fight for it no matter what. They are taking away our votes. We have to be stronger.”
The fisheries minister added that talks are underway for the reservation with the Union government as well as the BJP-led government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP CM Yogi Adityanath are serious about our demands, he said.
Mr. Nishad attacked the previous governments, alleging that the Samajwadi Party denied them access to education, while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) affected the livelihood of the Nishad and other riverine castes. “They (SP and BSP) cheated our community, they never gave us a chance,” said Mr. Nishad, who collapsed on the dais during the rally, pressing the demand and threatening to resign. The minister promised to hold rallies in Varanasi, Meerut and Prayagraj districts in support of the demand.
Accusing the minister of cheating the Nishad community, the Congress added that they were only pushing demands before the elections. “People like Sanjay Nishad know that Nishad and allied castes are not with them. In 2024 parliamentary polls these communities supported the INDIA alliance, these social groups are aware that the BJP-led NDA is hurting them in all sectors and robbing them of their basic right to livelihood. Sanjay Nishad will never consider this as agents of community B. he must resign from the cabinet as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has so far failed to comply demand,” said Anil Yadav, a senior UP Congress leader.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) said that people like Sanjay Nishad should think about what kind of politics they are supporting and join hands with the forces of justice and the marginalized. “It’s time for introspection for people like Sanjay Nishad who they support. If Sanjay Nishad is on the side of justice, he should support the PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpasankhyak) acronym for Backwards, Dalit and Minorities idea of our leader Akhilesh Yadav. The reality is that the BJP community has been troubled by Yah Nishad’s politics for the past nine years. ‘Sajan’, SP spokesperson.
Published – 24 March 2026 02:33 IST
