The Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal (Nishad) Party, which just days earlier had formally become part of the ‘gathbandhan’ formed by the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh, has withdrawn from the pre-poll alliance and may be looking to reach some sort of arrangement with the BJP, reports Hindustan Times.

The reason for the development is apparently that there was no ‘gathbandhan’ consensus about backing Nishad Party president Sanjay Nishad’s candidature from Maharajganj constituency in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Sanjay Nishad had made his displeasure public by stating that neither his party symbol nor the photographs of its leaders were put up on posters and banners by the alliance.

The Nishad Party had played a decisive role in ensuring an Opposition victory in the Gorakhpur bypolls last year, in which the Opposition parties united behind Sanjay Nishad’s son, Praveen Nishad, who won the constituency on an SP ticket.

The father-son duo also met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath yesterday (Friday, 29 March) after walking out of the ‘gathbandhan’.

SP has tried to downplay the political significance of this development, with its Gorakhpur district unit chief Prahlad Yadav saying, “Their move makes no difference to us as we won the Gorakhpur bypoll under the leadership of SP chief...and not due to the Nishad Party. Earlier too, we fielded Praveen only after he joined the SP.”