'Bandit Queen' Phoolan Devi's husband to take plunge in UP electoral politics

Apparently wanting a piece of the electoral pie by garnering support from the influential fellow 'Nishad' (boatmen, fishermen) community, 'Bandit Queen' Phoolan Devi's husband Ummed Kashyap has decided to take a plunge into electoral politics in Uttar Pradesh.

Kashyap, according to the sources, along with leaders of some other 'Nishad' outfits, would be forming a 'Jalvanshi Morcha', which would be putting up its candidates in the forthcoming UP assembly elections, which were barely eight months away.

The other outfits, which were part of the 'Morcha', included Eklavya Sena, Rashtriya Jansambhavana Party, Bhartiya Manav Samaj Party and some others.

The national president of the Morcha, Gyanendra Nishad said that his community had been 'cheated' by every political party. "No political party has done justice with the Nishad community....we want inclusion of our community in the SC category," he said here.

He also said that the 'Morcha' would launch an agitation if their demand for reservation in jobs and inclusion in the SC category was not considered.

Sources said that Kashyap would be playing a key role in the election campaign for the Morcha, especially in the areas where the Nishad community voters were in sizable numbers. "We will fulfill the wishes of Phoolan Devi, who is our ideal," said another Morcha leader.

Phoolan Devi, popularly known as the 'Bandit Queen', was shot dead outside her Delhi residence in 2001. She hailed from 'Nishad' community, which commands considerable influence in around 50 assembly seats in UP.

Phoolan, who represented Mirzapur in the Lok Sabha, was quite popular among the members of her community. The Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav had nominated her from the seat as his party's candidate in 1996 general elections after the then SP government withdrew all cases against her and released her from prison.

Two other 'Nishad' outfits, Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP) and Nihad Party, which is an ally of the BJP, were also vying for support from the community.