A comparatively low-profile, albeit committed Bharatiya Janata Party leader from the backward region of Bundelkhand in Uttar Pradesh, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, despite donning saffron robes, has earned her spurs by raising issues essentially concerning the Nishad (fishermen) community.
The Nishad is a Most Backward Caste (MBC) of Uttar Pradesh. The first-time Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from Fatehpur was on Sunday inducted as a Minister of State. She was MLA from Hamirpur before her election to the Lok Sabha from the neighbouring Fatehpur parliamentary constituency in the 2014 elections.
During her stint as an MLA, Ms. Jyoti was quite vocal in the Vidhan Sabha about the problems faced by the Nishad and Mallah (boatmen) communities in the region.
The region is notorious for illegal mining along the rivers. It is a common sight to witness trucks laden with freshly mined sand and “maurang.”
It was Ms. Jyoti who drew the government’s attention to the plight of the Nishad and Mallah communities whose livelihood had suffered on account of sand mining.
Her induction in the Union Cabinet might help the BJP expand its base among the Nishad, Mallah and Kewat MBCs (fishermen and boatmen communities) in view of the 2017 Assembly elections. They constitute a sizeable section of the MBCs in Uttar Pradesh, found mainly in Hamirpur, Fatehpur, Banda, Mirzapur and Gorakhpur districts. These communities have recently stepped up their demand for getting more representation in the government.
