Uttar Pradesh Minister and Nishad Party chief Sanjay Nishad on Tuesday, 15 September pushed back against speculation surrounding his Monday meeting with Samajwadi Party's Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Mata Prasad Pandey, saying 'wrong meanings are being drawn' from an encounter between two senior political figures. The meeting, held at Pandey's private residence in Lucknow, had set off intense political speculation about potential cross-alliance signalling ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

What Nishad Said About the Meeting

Nishad was categorical in dismissing the inferences being drawn. 'Wrong meanings are being drawn from it. He is a senior leader. He used to guide us during our youth. He was ill, so meeting him was my duty. Now, when two senior leaders meet, there will be discussions on politics,' he said.

He added that the conversation also touched on the murder of Vinod Sahani, a member of the Nishad community, in Gonda following a dispute over social media posts. Nishad remarked: 'We discussed Vinod Sahani, that if the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act had not been taken away, perhaps such an incident would not have occurred.'

The Sahani Murder and Street Protest

The Sahani killing had already placed Nishad in an uncomfortable position within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led ruling alliance. Despite being an ally of the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, Nishad had led a street protest against the administration over the incident — a rare public rupture between an NDA partner and the state government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Defending the protest, Nishad invoked his party's roots: 'The Nishad Party was born out of movements like the rail movement, road movement, jail bharo movement, gherao of the Chief Minister, gherao of the Prime Minister, Jantar Mantar movement, etc. We are advocates of society... If an officer is doing injustice and we still do not come out, then who will?'

He also credited the state government's eventual response, noting that 'action was taken, people were sent to jail, cases were registered, and police postings were changed,' arguing this showed the government 'stood with the victim.'

Separate Reservation Demand and SC/ST Act

Nishad's reference to the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act is consistent with his longer-running campaign for a separate reservation for the Nishad community within the Scheduled Caste quota — a demand that has kept his relationship with the BJP coalition in periodic tension. The Sahani case, in his framing, underscored the community's vulnerability in the absence of stronger statutory protection.

2027 Elections: Nishad Raises the Stakes

When asked about seat-sharing arrangements for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Nishad signalled a firm negotiating stance, arguing that alliance partners must be allocated seats the coalition lost — not safe seats already in its column.

Drawing on mythology to make his point, he said: 'In the Treta Yuga, Nishad Raj helped Lord Ram achieve victory, and the lord embraced him and trusted Nishad Raj. Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have trusted and embraced us, so naturally we talk about victory and the seats that can help us win. All the alliance partners should be given the seats that we were defeated in. We are allies only when we win the seats that were lost.'

The remarks suggest that with roughly 18 months to the next state elections, Nishad is already leveraging his community base as a bargaining chip in intra-alliance negotiations.