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Phoolan Devi’s 20th death anniversary: Parties vie to woo Nishad community in Uttar Pradesh
The Nishad community’s votes will be decisive in 160 assembly seats in central and eastern Uttar Pradesh, say experts
The 20th death anniversary of bandit-turned-politician Phoolan Devi on Sunday sparked a race for the Nishad community votes among the political parties in Uttar Pradesh where assembly elections are due early next year. Phoolan Devi, who belonged to the Nishad community and was elected MP on a Samajwadi Party ticket from Mirzapur in eastern Uttar Pradesh in 1996 and 1999, was shot dead at the gates of her official bungalow in New Delhi on July 25, 2001, when she was a sitting Lok Sabha member
The supporters of Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) led by Bihar animal husbandry minister Mukesh Sahni organised protests in various districts of Uttar Pradesh after the administration refused to grant permission to the party to install statues of Phoolan Devi in 18 districts of UP. The police detained the supporters of VIP in these 18 districts, including Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Kanpur, Prayagraj and Agra, the party claimed.
Terming the police action as a disrespect to Phoolan Devi, VIP’s state unit president Lautan Ram Nishad said the party had decided to launch a statewide protest over the issue.
The members of the Nishad, Majhwar, Kewat, Bind, Kashyap and Mallah communities were being harassed by the BJP government, he said. VIP would also launch a movement seeking reservation for the Nishad community in government jobs, he said. The party has also decided to contest the 2022 assembly elections in UP on its own strength, he added.
Hitting back at the VIP, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha member Jai Prakash Nishad said VIP had no support base in Uttar Pradesh but it was trying to create confusion among the Nishad community on Phoolan Devi’s death anniversary.
“The members of the Nishad community know that the BJP government led by Yogi Adityanath has launched several welfare schemes for the community,” he said. The BJP created a five-member state fishermen’s cell on July 17 to mobilise the support of Nishads in the assembly election. Jai Prakash Nishad, who has been appointed state convenor of the fishermen cell, said the BJP government constructed a grand park in the name of Nishad Raj at Shringverpur in Prayagraj. The community will support the BJP in the assembly election, he said. In an apparent bid to woo Nishads, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav unveiled the statue of Nishad community leader Manohar Lal Nishad in Unnao on July 22.
Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha MP Vishambhar Prasad Nishad said since its launch, the SP was fighting for the rights of the backward community.
“The Samajwadi Party government not only withdrew cases against Phoolan Devi (in 1994) but also sent her to the Lok Sabha from Mirzapur (in 1996 and 1999). The party ensured a respectable cremation for Phoolan Devi after her killing in Delhi on July 25, 2001. Each year, the party organises programmes on her birth and death anniversaries across the state. To misguide the Nishad community, the BJP leaders are supporting VIP president Mukesh Sahani and Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal (NISHAD) party chief Dr Sanjay Nishad. The Samajwadi Party will get the support of the Nishads in the assembly election,” he said.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) state unit president Bhim Rajbhar said party chief Mayawati launched several schemes for the welfare of the “suppressed communities,” including Nishads, when the BSP was in power in UP.
Under the BSP government, they not only got fishery rights but were also allotted agricultural land for their livelihood, he said.
An ally of the BJP, Nishad party chief Dr Sanjay Nishad said the supporters of the party organised programmes across the state to mark the 20th death anniversary of Phoolan Devi. “She took up the gun to fight for the rights of the weaker sections in the society. When the Nishad party comes to power in UP, it will set up a women’s self-defence centre in the name of Phoolan Devi. The effort of the rival parties to divide the Nishad community will prove futile as they are united under the banner of the Nishad Party,” he said.
Jaalvanshi Morcha national president Gyanendra Nishad said the supporters of the morcha organised a yatra across UP to mobilise the Nishad community. “We also visited Shekhpur Gudha Ka Purwa, native village of Phoolan Devi (in Jalaun district of Uttar Pradesh), to meet her mother Moola Devi. We will launch a movement seeking reservation for the community in government jobs,” he said.
Phoolan Devi’s husband Umed Singh, who runs Eklavya Sena, said if Phoolan had belonged to the upper caste, the ruling political party would have installed her statues and constructed temples. “Rather she is abused as a dacoit and bandit queen,” he said.
The Eklavya Sena will oppose the use of her name for political gains, he said.
A political observer SK Srivastava said the boatmen community (Nishads, Majhwars, Kewats, Binds, Kashyaps and Mallahs) constituted 18% of the OBC votes in UP.
Along with organising the death anniversary of Phoolan Devi, the political parties were trying to woo the community whose votes will be decisive in around 160 assembly constituencies in east and Central UP in the 2022 assembly elections, he said.
