An Uttar Pradesh government notification banning caste rallies has touched a raw nerve among several parties that see it as a ploy for “suppression”, throwing into doubt the government’s plan to eliminate caste-entrenched politics from the state.

The notification was issued on September 21 following an Allahabad High Court order that sought to tamp down a growing trend of caste glorification and nudge the state towards a casteless society.

Sanjay Nishad, president of BJP ally Nishad Party, urged chief minister Yogi Adityanath to support caste-based mobilisations because they were “necessary to end suppression of the downtrodden”.

“If need be, we should respond legally against the observation of the high court so that we continue with our caste-based meetings,” Nishad, the minister of fisheries, told reporters on Wednesday.

Objecting to the state government notification, Nishad had on Tuesday said: “They (upper castes) will continue suppressing them (lower castes) if they (lower castes) are not united. They (lower castes) will be able to oppose all suppressions only if they are united and keep mobilising themselves.”

Nishads are members of the Other Backward Caste who mostly live by the riverside and are engaged in fishing or boating for their livelihood. The Nishad Party claims to work for the uplift of the Nishad caste.

The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), which holds Rajbhar caste rallies almost every week, and the Apna Dal, which organises Kurmi caste meetings, are also allies of the BJP government in the state.

“This is a good strategy by Adityanath to neutralise them because they are in the government but keep blackmailing him for more important portfolios,” said a BJP leader on the condition of anonymity.

SBSP chief O.P. Rajbhar is the panchayati raj minister while Ashish Patel of the Apna Dal is the technical education minister in Uttar Pradesh. Ashish’s wife Anupriya Patel, the head of the Apna Dal, is the Union minister of state for health & family welfare and chemicals & fertilisers.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, who draws support from the Yadav vote bank, said the notification was aimed at denting his political base.

“Nobody can deny that caste is the first thing that enables us to bond with someone emotionally. Some castes (upper castes) have their dominance over every system in the country and they don’t want to upset the status quo. This is why the state government bans it (meetings of lower castes),” Akhilesh said.

“If the government issues such an order, then it should also act against those who wash houses and temples after someone leaves or visits the premises,” he added.

Earlier, Akhilesh had alleged that the chief minister’s official bungalow was washed with Ganga water after he vacated it in 2017 and Adityanath moved in. BJP members had also washed a temple in Kannauj after Akhilesh prayed there last year. Akhilesh represents Kannauj in Parliament.