Lucknow: After the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)-Samajwadi Party (SP) alliance in Uttar Pradesh received a setback with its key OBC ally, the NISHAD party leaving them to stitch an alliance with BJP, BSP chief Mayawati is now considering fielding senior leaders from different caste groups from the eastern region in a bid to recalibrate its strategy ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
This change of equations holds significance since the NISHAD party has a considerable vote bank in Eastern UP and it was this party’s Pravin Nishad who snatched the prestigious Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat from the BJP’s grip in a by-election last year on an SP symbol with support from the BSP.
According to sources, the BSP is now likely to field senior leaders such as Satish Chandra Mishra from the Kaiserganj constituency in order to capitalise on Brahmin votes, along with the traditional Dalit votes. Previously, Santosh Tiwari was appointed the party in-charge for the region, but was recently shunned from his responsibilities on account of his ‘anti-party’ activities.
Meanwhile, the in-charges of several parliamentary constituencies such as Lalganj, Bansgaon, Shravasti and Jaunpur were also changed. On Friday, the in-charge of Lalganj parliamentary seat was changed and Sangeeta Azad, wife of BSP MLA Azad Aridarman, has been named as the new in-charge.
Nadeem Tarin took charge of Shravasti, while in Bansgaon, former minister Sadal Prasad was made in-charge of the constituency.
The party is yet to announce its new in-charge for Jaunpur as sources suggest that the seat might be exchanged with SP in lieu of Ballia parliamentary seat. Mayawati has also rejigged the organisation structure of the party in the eastern part of the state with the appointment of Ghanshyam Chandra Kharwar, Indal Lal, and Vijay Kumar as the zonal co-ordinators of Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Azamgarh divisions, respectively.
The SP and the BSP had entered a pre-poll alliance, declaring that they will be contesting on 37 and 38 seats each. While SP has announced most of its candidates on its share of seats, the BSP it seems, is busy making last minute changes to the strategy as per current political developments.
Earlier on Saturday, hours after NISHAD party chief Sanjay Nishad announced that he was parting ways with the SP-BSP alliance and held talks with UP CM Yogi Adityanath, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav named the party's candidates for Gorakhpur and Kanpur Lok Sabha constituencies. Interestingly, both the candidates belong to the Nishad community.
Announcing the break-up on Friday evening, Sanjay Nishad said party workers and the core committee were upset that the party did not find any mention in the posters, banners or letters issued by the alliance in its campaign. It further said that it was free to “look for other options”.
During Sanjay’s meeting with Adityanath, his son and the incumbent Gorakhpur MP was also present, as was UP minister Siddharth Nath Singh.
The meeting has triggered speculations that the two parties would soon enter into a deal, however, no announcement has been made yet. Announcing the end of the alliance with the SP-BSP, Sanjay Nishad had said he would make an announcement on the seats from which his party would contest.
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