In the 2022 Assembly elections, the party won six Assembly seats in the state but failed to open its account in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.Days after Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav addressed a public meeting in Gurjar-dominated Gautam Buddha Nagar district’s Dadri tehsil, the NISHAD Party is set to organise a Gurjar Kashyap Nishad Ekta Mahasammelan in Noida on April 5, in an attempt to bring Gurjar voters close to the party’s vote base.The NISHAD Party, an alliance partner of the ruling BJP, is a part of the government in the state.Besides attempting to connect with the Gurjar votes, the NISHAD Party also intends to use the rally to reiterate its demand for including Nishads in Scheduled Caste (SC) category in Uttar Pradesh and the issuance of SC certificates like the community gets in Delhi, it is learnt.While Nishad and Kashyap are traditionally boatmen and fishing communities, Gurjars are known to be predominantly herders and farmers. The three fall in the Other Backward Class (OBC) category in UP.NISHAD Party chief and state Fisheries Minister Sanjay Nishad said, “Mihir Bhoj was a Gurjar king. Gurjars are a deprived section, their lands first taken away by the British and then during the rule of the Congress and BSP for developing Noida and Greater Noida. They deserve to be treated with respect. The April 5 programme will bring Nishads and Gurjars together.”The demand for removing Nishads from the OBC list and including them in SC category will be raised at the rally, he added.Such ‘sammelans’ of Nishads with Jats will also be organised in western UP soon, the minister said.Story continues below this adGurjars are considered politically significant in nearly 60 Assembly constituencies of western Uttar Pradesh.The NISHAD Party claims that their community constitutes nearly 18 per cent of the overall OBC population of UP. The community includes various sub-castes, including Mallahs, Binds, Manjhis, Kewats, Kashyaps, Turhas, Majhwas, Bathams, Beldars, Chaiye, and Tiyar.The party will organise the Gurjar Kashyap Nishad Ekta Mahasammelan at Indoor Stadium in Noida’s Sector 21 on April 5 before taking out a bike rally, to mark the birth anniversary of sage Maharishi Kashyap.In the 2022 Assembly elections, the party won six Assembly seats in the state but failed to open its account in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.Story continues below this adOn Sunday (March 29), the SP held a Samajwadi Samanta Bhaichara rally at Mihir Bhoj College in Dadri with a focus on the Gurjar votes. Party chief Akhilesh Yadav offered floral tribute to Mihir Bhoj’s statue and performed an “abhishek” with Gangajal. Yadav promised if the SP came to power in UP, memorials to Mihir Bhoj, martyr Vijay Singh Pathik and freedom fighter Kotwal Dhan Singh Gujar will be built in Lucknow and their statues will be installed on the riverfront. Lalmani is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, and is based in New Delhi. He covers politics of the Hindi Heartland, tracking BJP, Samajwadi Party, BSP, RLD and other parties based in UP, Bihar and Uttarakhand. Covered the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, 2019 and 2024; Assembly polls of 2012, 2017 and 2022 in UP along with government affairs in UP and Uttarakhand. ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd