Lucknow/Gorakhpur, March 23 -- Launching his party's campaign for the 2027 assembly election in Gorakhpur on Sunday, Nirbal Indian Shoshit Hamara Aam Dal (Nishad) party chief and Uttar Pradesh fisheries minister Sanjay Nishad pressed for Scheduled Caste (SC) status for Nishads and 21 other sub-castes associated with the riverine community. Addressing a gathering at Digvijay Nath Park, Nishad said reservation is a right, not charity, and called for restoration of traditional rights over rivers, fishing and sand mining ghats. The event saw a 3,000-bike rally and participation from workers across eastern UP. Demanding Scheduled Caste (SC) status, Sanjay Nishad reportedly broke down on stage during the rally, saying he will resign if the demand is not granted. The Nishad party won five assembly seats in 2022 but now finds itself at a crossroads as a majority of the poll promises, including granting SC status to the 22 sub-castes of the riverine community, remain unfulfilled. The Nishad party has also decided to organise rallies in Prayagraj, Varanasi and Meerut. "The prime minister, Union home minister and the chief minister have assured us that the government is serious about reservation for the riverine community," he claimed. He blamed the Opposition parties-Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party - for complicating the reservation issue. Criticising Sanjay Nishad's assertions, Samajwadi Party leader Rajendra Chaudhary said the riverine community cannot be taken for a ride by the Nishad party chief. Despite being a BJP ally and a minister in UP, the Nishad party chief failed to get the important demands of the community implemented, Chaudhary said. For his part, Sanjay Nishad claimed he is working to fulfil all the community's demands before the assembly election....