New Delhi: A heated TV debate with controversial Ayodhya priest Raju Das has seemingly turned into a political breakthrough for Mathura-based Congress leader Kunwar Singh Nishad. Weeks after the episode, Nishad was appointed as the head of the Uttar Pradesh Congress’s media and communication department.
The appointment has caught many in the Congress state unit by surprise, but party sources said the decision was taken directly by the central leadership. The development came after Nishad took to social media following the television debate, saying he wanted justice and highlighting that he belonged to the backward classes and had been abused by a seer perceived to be close to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Soon after, Nishad was called to Delhi for a meeting with Rahul Gandhi. According to Nishad, he was assured that the party would stand by him and that he would receive due respect within the organisation.
Nishad told ThePrint that he was disappointed after the television controversy, but the meeting with Rahul boosted his morale. Rahul, he said, assured him of “’full respect”’ in the party. That followed with the news of his new responsibility as head of the Uttar Pradesh Congress communication department.
Hon'ble Congress President has approved the proposal for the appointment of Shri Kunwar Singh Nishad as the Chairperson of the Media and Publicity Department, Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee, with immediate effect. pic.twitter.com/bnHgYDMGDO
— INC Sandesh (@INCSandesh) September 17, 2026
Currently classified as an Other Backward Class (OBC) community, the Nishads have been demanding the status of Scheduled Caste. Though they constitute 3-4 percent of the population, the community is wooed by all political parties as it is concentrated in over a dozen seats, especially in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Believed to largely vote as a bloc, the Nishads are raising their demand of SC reservation in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.
A native of Mathura, Nishad had served as a general secretary of the BJP’s youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).
”I started my political career with the ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad) when I was pursuing graduation at Agra University. I come from an RSS background and have undergone the third-year OTC (Officers’ Training Camp), also known as Tritiya Varsh Sangh Shiksha Varg. This training is not accessible to everyone.,” Nishad told ThePrint.
“Later, I served as the Zila Sanyojak (district convenor) of the Bajrang Dal. In 2016, I was inducted into the state team of the BJYM.”
According to Nishad, his relationship with the BJP deteriorated after the party came to power in Uttar Pradesh.
”After the government changed (in 2017), the situation within the BJP also changed. I felt that I was being ignored because I belonged to the Nishad community. In 2021, I had an argument with Sunil Bansal, who was then the BJP’s state general secretary (organisation),” he said.
“My question was that if cases against senior leaders who were part of the government were being withdrawn, why were cases involving members of the Nishad community not being withdrawn? I also demanded that the Nishad community be moved from the OBC category to the SC category. But my demands were not heard. That day, I decided to leave the party.”
That very year, members of Priyanka Gandhi’s team approached him. Nishad said he met Priyanka ahead of the 2022 Uttar Pradesh elections, after which he joined the Congress.
After joining the Congress, Nishad was initially appointed a district spokesperson. He was later promoted as a state spokesperson. Now, the party’s entire team of state spokespersons will work under him.
Nishad’s rise came after the controversy surrounding an event in Ayodhya. A Nishad sammelan (conference) had been organised in Ayodhya, which was attended by Uttar Pradesh Congress in charge Rajendra Pal Gautam and state president Ajay Rai. There were talks that fish had been served at the conference in the holy month of Sawan.
That became the subject of a heated debate in which Das made abusive and objectionable remarks against Nishad. The Congress held a press conference at its state headquarters and extended its support to Nishad. Members of the Nishad community also held protests at several places and demanded action against Das.
Nishad said he wants to contest an election from Mathura in the future. He said he believes Rahul Gandhi’s emphasis on ‘Samajik Nyay’ (social justice) would also be reflected in the distribution of election tickets.
He described the appointment of Dalit leader Rajendra Pal Gautam as the Congress’s Uttar Pradesh in charge as a positive step, saying Gautam was taking forward the party’s message of social justice.
Nishad said he would work closely with Gautam to advance that agenda.
However, some within the Uttar Pradesh Congress unit remain critical of the recent appointments. A senior state Congress leader said there was a growing concern that ‘outsiders’ were gaining greater prominence in the party at the expense of its traditional workers.
”Rajendra Pal Gautam came to the Congress from the Aam Aadmi Party. Ajay Rai also has a BJP background. Now the communication in charge has also come from outside. The party is forgetting its traditional cadre and experimenting with new faces,”’ the leader said.
“Earlier, we saw experiments of Team Priyanka; now we are noticing the Team RG approach.”
(Edited by Tony Rai)