Praveen Kumar Nishad: Sant Kabir Nagar MP Aiming For A Second Win (image: facebook.com/praveennishad4u)

Praveen Kumar Nishad, BJP MP is seeking his second term from Uttar Pradesh”s Sant Kabir Nagar. He attained fame by winning Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat on 2018 by-elections.

Praveen Kumar Nishad, who belonged to Nishad Party contested the seat on Samajwadi Party (SP) ticket and won the election by defeating rival BJP candidate Upendra Dutt Shukla. The Gorakhpur seat has been BJP”s bastion for 25 years, and through Praveen Kumar Nishad”s victory, SP destroyed saffron party”s stronghold. Besides a first time candidate, Praveen was just 29 at that time.

One year later, in 2019 Praveen Kumar Nishad joined BJP ahead of Lok Sabha elections. In the polls, he contested from Sant Kabir Nagar seat and defeated Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) candidate Bhishma Shankar Tiwari by a margin of 35,749 votes. Congress candidate Bhal Chandra Yadav came third at the election.

Praveen Kumar Nishad comes from a political family. He is the son of Dr Sanjay Nishad, founder and National President of Nishad party. Sanjay Nishad currently serve as a cabinet minister in BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government. Nishad Party is a ruling ally of the saffron party in the State and part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre.

An engineering graduate from Lucknow”s Gautam Buddh Technical University, Praveen Nishad worked as a production engineer in a private firm for few years. In 2013, he returned to Gorakhpur to assist his father in politics.

Sant Kabir Nagar Lok Sabha constituency consists of five assembly segments namely, Alapur, Menhdawal, Khalilabad, Dhanghata, and Khajani. In the constituency Brahmins and Rajputs votes hold influence in the elections, nonetheless, Kurmis also form a sizeable population.