Sanjay Nishad, Mukesh Sahni

NEW DELHI: Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) president Mukesh Sahani on Saturday accused Uttar Pradesh minister and Nishad Party chief Sanjay Nishad of being “trapped in dynastic politics” and alleged that he had failed to secure reservation for the Nishad community despite being in the government for five years.Sahani, who arrived in Sonbhadra as part of his “Aarakshan Sankalp Yatra”, administered an oath to members of the Nishad (Mallah) community, asking them to pledge with Ganga water in hand that they would not vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) until their community gets the benefits of reservation.Speaking to reporters, Sahani said the campaign would continue across villages until November 30 to organise Nishad community members and create awareness about their reservation demand.The former Bihar minister said the campaign aims to get 50 lakh people to take the pledge.Targeting the Nishad Party chief, Sahani said, “Sanjay Nishad has got trapped in dynastic politics and, after joining the government, is running his own shop. He has been a minister for five years, but has not been able to get reservation for the Nishad community so far.”

Sahani, who previously served as Bihar’s animal husbandry and fisheries development minister, said Nishad voters would not vote for the BJP in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls if reservation was not granted to the community.He said he had been running the “Nishad Reservation Jan Sankalp Abhiyan” in Uttar Pradesh for the last five months and a half and would continue it until November 30 to organise and mobilise members of the community in support of the reservation demand.Sahani said the party’s programmes would also be widely publicised on social media to build pressure on the government and opposition parties.The VIP has political influence among the Nishad-Mallah community, particularly in Bihar.