The ‘Nishad’ factor: How parties are fishing for a key OBC vote bank ahead of 2027 UP polls

Nishad told The Indian Express that his Mahasammelan was aimed at raising reservation-related issues of the community and bringing Gurjar and Nishad voters together in Western UP.

Why do Nishad votes matter?

The Nishad community comprises boatmen, fishermen, and net makers whose livelihoods are centred around rivers and water bodies.

In UP and Bihar, the community includes various sub-castes, including Mallahs, Binds, Manjhis, Kewats, Kashyaps, Turhas, Majhwas, Bathams, Beldars, Chaiye, and Tiyar, among others. They are classified as Other Backward Classes (OBC) in Uttar Pradesh and Extremely Backward Castes (EBC) in Bihar.

Nishad Party chief and UP Fisheries Minister, Sanjay Nishad, at the Gurjar Kashyap Nishad Ekta Mahasammelan in Noida on April 5. (Express Photo)

Members of the community are also present in other states: Kaibartas in Assam and Jaliya Kaibartas in West Bengal. They are under the Scheduled Caste category in these states.

Political parties suggest that the Nishad community constitutes 18-20% of OBC votes in UP.

A senior BJP leader claimed, “… Sadhvi Jyoti’s appointment may have prompted the Samajwadi Party to name a Nishad woman as its women’s wing chief. It may also have influenced Sanjay Nishad’s emotional appeal [during the March 22 event] and his decision to hold a programme in Noida to maintain his identity as leader of the Nishads.”

Sadhvi Jyoti is a katha vachak (one who delivers religious sermons) and a former MP from UP’s Fatehpur. She won her debut election in 2012 from the Hamirpur assembly constituency.

While not a widely known face in the SP, Rukmani’s appointment as its UP women cell chief drew attention because she is the sister of Phoolan Devi. Devi, who was elected as an MP on a Samajwadi Party ticket from Mirzapur in 1996 and 1999, was assassinated in 2001.

Responding to a question on Rukmani’s appointment, Akhilesh Yadav last week said, “She has been working in the party for several years… I am happy that the party has received lots of greetings for this decision and positive messages are coming on social media. It means the SP’s decision is correct. She represents aadhi-abaadi (half of population), her family has gone through hardships and insults, and [so has] her community…”

SP’s OBC cell state president Rajpal Kashyap said Nishad voters are in every assembly constituency in UP and, in some seats, they number over one lakh. “Phoolan Devi was a tall leader… By appointing her sister in the women’s wing, the party has kept her ideology alive. The SP gives representation to women from the rural background,” he said.

He also claimed that the BJP appointed Nishad community leaders as ministers as a formality and did nothing for the people on ground.

At his Noida gathering, Sanjay Nishad welcomed Akhilesh Yadav’s move of appointing Rukmani Devi but posed questions to SP president: “If you remembered the Nishad community, why so late? If you wanted to honour our sister, the brave Phoolan Devi, why did you not build a statue or park [in her honour] in Lucknow during your government? If you had respect for her, why did your 37 MPs not demand a CBI inquiry in Parliament? When was the last time you met her mother?”

Addressing the gathering, the minister said Nishad votes were not in anyone’s pocket. He also claimed his party was not restricted to eastern UP and it was becoming stronger in western UP too.

In a sign of broader caste outreach beyond Nishads, he also made attempts to woo Gurjar voters. Photographs of Mihir Bhoj were displayed on the stage and the minister assured the Gurjar community that he will raise demands before the government for granting university status to Samrat Mihir Bhoj College (Dadri), confer Bharat Ratna on freedom fighters Vijay Singh Pathik and Dhan Singh Kotwa, rename Meerut district after Dhan Singh Gurjar, and install a grand statue of Maharishi Kashyap in western UP.