Lucknow, August 31, 2025 – In a move that has stirred up political circles in Uttar Pradesh, Nishad Party chief and state Fisheries Minister Sanjay Nishad met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today. This comes just days after Nishad’s bold remarks against their NDA alliance, where he dared the BJP to end the partnership if it no longer saw value in it. The meeting at the CM’s office in Lucknow lasted about an hour, but details of what was discussed remain under wraps. Political watchers see it as an attempt to smooth over growing cracks in the alliance.
The drama started earlier this week in Gorakhpur, Nishad’s home turf. During a public conference, he lashed out at the BJP, saying, “If the BJP thinks it doesn’t benefit from allies like us, they should break the alliance.” He accused the party of using junior leaders to hurl abuses at his Nishad Party and trying to undercut it by promoting their own figures from the Nishad community. Names like state minister Jaiprakash Nishad and former MP Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti came up, with Nishad claiming the BJP was building rival leaders to split his voter base.
At the heart of Nishad’s anger is the demand for reservations for the Mallah community, which forms the core of his Nishad Party support. He warned that if their calls for quota rights aren’t heard, his supporters would surround the state assembly in protest. This isn’t new, the Nishad Party has long pushed for better representation for backward castes like fishermen and boatmen, who feel left out despite being part of the NDA since 2019. Nishad’s son, Praveen Nishad, even won a Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket that year, but tensions have simmered over time.
Right after his outburst, things moved fast. That same night, BJP state president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary called Nishad to calm things down and promised to fix the issues. The next day, Nishad met Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak at his home and downplayed any rift, saying the alliance was solid. By August 28, he was back to praising the leadership, calling his party “a rock” standing firm with Yogi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi against those trying to “sink the boat.”
Today’s meeting with Yogi seems like the latest step in patching things up. Party insiders say it’s part of broader efforts by the BJP to keep its smaller allies happy, especially among Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in eastern and central UP. The BJP relies on these groups as its main vote bank. Allies like the Nishad Party, SBSP led by Om Prakash Rajbhar, and others representing Patels and Jats have voiced similar frustrations, feeling sidelined as the BJP builds its own OBC leaders.
This isn’t the first time alliance partners and BJP leaders have clashed in UP. Back in July 2024, Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya made headlines with his own digs at Yogi, hinting at power struggles within the party. But for now, Nishad’s quick turnaround, from threats to talks, suggests both sides want to avoid a full-blown split ahead of future elections.
As UP politics heats up, all eyes are on whether this meeting leads to real changes, like addressing reservation demands, or if it’s just a temporary truce. With the NDA aiming to hold onto power in India’s most populous state, keeping allies like Nishad on board could be key to their success. For the Nishad community, though, the fight for fair share continues, no matter the alliance games.
