Prayagraj: With the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections on the horizon, fisheries minister and Nishad Party president Sanjay Nishad on Saturday said political empowerment begins with a strong grassroots organisation.Addressing a booth workers’ convention in Prayagraj, he said communities that build robust booth-level networks secure greater representation in govt jobs, governance and elected offices.Nishad said the community remained politically underrepresented because it failed to organise itself at the grassroots level, unlike several other communities that consolidated their political influence over the years.Alleging that opposition parties treated the Nishad community merely as a vote bank, he urged party workers to ensure the organisation’s presence at every polling booth and work continuously among the people ahead of the Assembly polls.Targeting the Samajwadi Party and Congress, Nishad credited the Yogi Adityanath govt with improving law and order and ensuring a peaceful atmosphere during religious events.“Earlier, festivals were celebrated with swords; now they are celebrated with values,” he said, adding that the politics of appeasement ended under the present govt.He said the Nishad Party was formed to politically empower deprived and weaker sections of society.“A community with its own political organisation has the strength to resolve its issues. Without political organisation, there can be neither strength nor a lasting solution to problems,” he said.Nishad also urged workers to prioritise education along with organisational expansion to secure constitutional rights and ensure long-term social progress.Referring to the 2022 Assembly elections, he said the BJP allotted 16 seats to the Nishad Party and the alliance won 11 of them. He clarified that the party was not bargaining for a larger seat share in the next election but was working with the BJP to convert previously lost constituencies into victories through stronger booth management and better coordination among workers.On the Aurangzeb-related controversy, Nishad said such issues should be resolved through democratic and judicial processes. However, he added that India should follow the ideals of Lord Ram and Nishad Raj rather than Aurangzeb.Emphasising the importance of democracy, he said, “The real God in democracy is the voter,” adding that governance, law and order, and the direction of the economy are ultimately determined by the people through their votes.
