BJP, Nishad Party to fight UP elections together

Lucknow, Sep 24 (PTI):
The BJP and the Nishad Party will contest the upcoming assembly polls together in Uttar Pradesh and will work towards forming the next government in the state, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Friday.
Pradhan, who is BJP’s in-charge of Uttar Pradesh polls, made a formal announcement of the alliance at a press conference here in the presence of Nishad Party, or Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal, chief Sanjay Nishad.
We will have an alliance with the Nishad Party. We (BJP-Nishad Party) will fight the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections together with strength, and today the leaders of both the parties are making a formal announcement about it, Pradhan said. “Not just the Nishad Party, we also have an alliance with the Apna Dal and we will work together to form the government in the state, he added.
Replying to a question, Pradhan said the upcoming state elections will be fought under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Recently Sanjay Nishad was in the news for his demand that the BJP should project him as a deputy chief minister face in the elections. He claimed that Nishads (fishermen) constitute about 18 percent of total votes and play a deciding role on 160 assembly seats. Nishad, who had been putting conditions for an alliance with the BJP, however, did not answer questions of media persons during the press conference on Friday.
Asked about conditions of the alliance, Pradhan said that talks have been held on all issues and it will be made public at an appropriate time . The Nishad Party had contested the 2017 assembly elections in alliance with the Peace Party led by Dr Ayub and contested 72 seats. Its candidate Vijay Mishra had won from Gyanpur in Bhadohi
district.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the party entered into an alliance with the BJP and Sanjay Nishad’s son Praveen Nishad was nominated from Sant Kabir Nagar wherefrom he won the elections.