With 'Nadi Adhikar Yatra', UP Congress eyeing 13% backward vote bank for 2022

Congress has been planning to initiate a 600-km 'Nadi Adhikar Yatra' to highlight the issues faced by the fishermen community in UP ahead of the assembly election in Uttar Pradesh in 2022.

With an eye on the assembly election in Uttar Pradesh in 2022, Congress has been planning to organise a 600-km 'Nadi Adhikar Yatra' to highlight the issues faced by the fishermen community in the state. On February 21, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had met the fishermen who were allegedly lathi-charged by the police on February 4 in Baswar village of Prayagraj. This action was taken on the charges of illegal mining in the area. It was then Priyanka Gandhi Vadra announced to fight the battle of Nishad. During this time, she had announced the 'Nadi Adhikar Yatra' from March 1 to Manjhi Ghat in Ballia. There is about 13 per cent population of backward castes in UP but since there's a lack of unity between them, the castes did not become a vote bank for the political parties. But the exercise of using them as a vote bank has been going on for a long time. Now, Congress is also trying to get this segment ahead of the polls. In Uttar Pradesh, except the Yadavs and Kurmis among the backward castes, the political parties have always been engaged in politics with 17 castes. Among them, Rajbhar makes about 1.32 per cent of the total population, Kumhar and Prajapati about 1.84 per cent, Gond .022 per cent.