BJP ally Nishad party disappointed over no seat in cabinet

Gorakhpur: Following Modi's mega cabinet reshuffle, Sanjay Nishad of Nishad (Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal) Party, a BJP ally in Uttar Pradesh, asked why his son Praveen wasn't accommodated in the Union Cabinet. Sanjay expressed his disappointment, asking if Anupriya Patel of Apna Dal made it, why Praveen couldn't.

According to him, Praveen Nishad enjoys popularity in over 160 assembly seats, whereas Anupriya Patel in just a few. He cautioned that Nishad Party sympathisers are ditching BJP, and if it does not rectify its mistakes, it will face the consequences in the upcoming assembly poll. Nishad Party has one MLA in the UP Legislative Assembly at the moment.

Sanjay said that he had conveyed his views to JP Nadda, BJP president and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. It is their decision, and he has full faith that they will take care of Praveen, he added.

Recently, Sanjay had told the media that Nishad Party is with the BJP and will continue to be with them. However, his community is moving away from the national party as with the Congress, SP and BSP. They felt cheated by other parties and now feel the same about BJP, he added.

Praveen Nishad is a member of Parliament from Sant Kabir Nagar. He won the Gorakhpur seat in a by-poll for Samajwadi Party and was supported by the Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) under the grand alliance between the two. The Gorakhpur LS seat had fallen vacant when its MP, Yogi Adityanath, was elected as chief minister of UP.