Akash Anand, the nephew of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, has been removed as the party’s national coordinator for the second time in a year. Mayawati has replaced the 30-year-old with two national coordinators — Akash’s father Anand Kumar and senior party leader Ramji Gautam. A BSP release says Akash Anand has been removed from all party posts, raising questions about his political future.
The key decisions were taken at a grand BSP meeting in Lucknow, chaired by Mayawati and attended by party leaders from across the country. The meeting reviewed the strategy of BSP, which has been struggling in Uttar Pradesh, which it ruled in the past, and elsewhere.
A Chequered Journey
Akash Anand, who studied in Delhi and Noida before completing his MBA from the UK’s University of Plymouth, was showcased as the BSP’s future and Ms Mayawati’s political heir. He first emerged on the political scene ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Positioned as a new-age face, he is considered to have played a key role in pushing BSP’s social media presence. Towards the end of 2023, he was appointed the party’s national coordinator, officially establishing him as Number 2 in BSP. However, shortly before the Lok Sabha polls last year, Mayawati removed him from the top post, saying he needed “maturity”. Akash’s father replaced him. The BSP was routed in the Lok Sabha polls, winning zero seats. Soon after, Akash Anand was reappointed as national coordinator in June. Now, eight months later, he is out again.
Ms Mayawati said she would name anyone her political heir and added that her family will not forge any ties with another political family in the future.
The Build-Up And A Big Hint
The first clear indication of Akash Anand losing favour with the BSP chief came last month when his father-in-law Ashok Siddharth was expelled from the BSP for anti-party activities. In a post on X, Ms Mayawati said former MP Siddharth and Nitin Singh had been expelled for factionalism and other anti-party activities.
Days later, the BSP chief dropped a big hint. She said in a long thread that as the political heir of BSP founder Kanshi Ram, she would struggle lifelong to free Dalits from political slavery and social helplessness. Without taking names, she added that her true heir could only be someone committed to taking the movement forward despite all odds. The remark was seen as a swipe to Akash Anand.
A Floundering Political Force
The BSP’s leadership flip-flops are playing out against the backdrop of its massive electoral setbacks over the past few years that have raised questions about its political future. The BSP, which won 206 seats in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 2007, won just one seat in the 2022 state polls. In the Lok Sabha, the party won 10 seats in the 2019 polls, when it contested in an alliance with the Samajwadi Party. This time, it decided to go solo and drew a blank and new political forces such as the Chandrashekar Azad-led Azad Samaj Party dented the BSP’s traditional support base.
