Uttar Pradesh: Sanjay Nishad receives 'assurance' from CM Yogi days after Deputy CM pitch

Days after seeking a bigger role for himself, NISHAD party chief Sanjay Nishad claimed that he was assured by CM Yogi Adityanath that their demands will be met. In the 2019 General Election, Sanjay Nishad's son Praveen Kumar Nishad contested on a BJP ticket and emerged victorious from the Sant Kabir Nagar constituency. Nishad had told party workers on Tuesday that he must be projected as the Deputy CM face in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

Lamenting that he was offered only a Cabinet berth and Rajya Sabha seat, he warned BJP that it will suffer an electoral setback if the demands of the NISHAD party are not fulfilled. Moderating his stance after meeting Adityanath and Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya on Wednesday, Nishad stated that the UP government is contemplating withdrawing cases against him and his community. Revealing that he will continue the alliance with BJP, the leader stated that the NISHAD party did not have a specific demand as far as seat allocation is concerned. 

Assembly polls in UP

In the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, BJP won a whopping 312 seats in the 403-member House, whereas BSP could win only 19 seats. On the other hand, the SP-Congress alliance failed to bear fruit as it could win in only 54 constituencies. While this was seen as a mandate for PM Modi as BJP had not declared any CM candidate, Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath was a surprise pick for the post. Though Adityanath's stature within the saffron party skyrocketed over the years becoming a star campaigner in all elections, he purportedly attracted ire for the handling of the COVID-19 situation during the second wave.

BJP leaders have made conflicting statements over Adityanath's future as the Chief Minister in the last few weeks. For instance, UP BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh asserted that the polls will be contested under the CM’s leadership citing the end of corruption and hooliganism in the state. However, UP Minister Swami Prasad Maurya stressed that the state’s next CM will be decided by the BJP’s central leadership after the assembly polls. Similarly, newly appointed UP vice president AK Sharma sparked a buzz by asserting that PM Modi's name was enough to win the election.