In, Out, In, Out: Mayawati’s Nephew Loses Top Party Post In New Flip-Flop

Akash Anand, the nephew of Bahujan Samaj Social gathering (BSP) chief Mayawati, has been eliminated because the get together’s nationwide coordinator for the second time in a yr. Mayawati has changed the 30-year-old with two nationwide coordinators — Akash’s father Anand Kumar and senior get together chief Ramji Gautam. A BSP launch says Akash Anand has been faraway from all get together posts, elevating questions on his political future.

The important thing selections have been taken at a grand BSP assembly in Lucknow, chaired by Mayawati and attended by get together leaders from throughout the nation. The assembly reviewed the technique of BSP, which has been struggling in Uttar Pradesh, which it dominated up to now, and elsewhere.

A Chequered Journey

Akash Anand, who studied in Delhi and Noida earlier than finishing his MBA from the UK’s College of Plymouth, was showcased because the BSP’s future and Ms Mayawati’s political inheritor. He first emerged on the political scene forward of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Positioned as a new-age face, he’s thought of to have performed a key function in pushing BSP’s social media presence. In direction of the tip of 2023, he was appointed the get together’s nationwide coordinator, formally establishing him as Quantity 2 in BSP. Nonetheless, shortly earlier than the Lok Sabha polls final yr, Mayawati eliminated him from the highest put up, saying he wanted “maturity”. Akash’s father changed him. The BSP was routed within the Lok Sabha polls, profitable zero seats. Quickly after, Akash Anand was reappointed as nationwide coordinator in June. Now, eight months later, he’s out once more.

Ms Mayawati stated she would identify anybody her political inheritor and added that her household won’t forge any ties with one other political household sooner or later. 

The Construct-Up And A Massive Trace

The primary clear indication of Akash Anand shedding favour with the BSP chief got here final month when his father-in-law Ashok Siddharth was expelled from the BSP for anti-party actions. In a put up on X, Ms Mayawati stated former MP Siddharth and Nitin Singh had been expelled for factionalism and different anti-party actions.

Days later, the BSP chief dropped a giant trace. She stated in an extended thread that because the political inheritor of BSP founder Kanshi Ram, she would battle lifelong to free Dalits from political slavery and social helplessness. With out taking names, she added that her true inheritor may solely be somebody dedicated to taking the motion ahead regardless of all odds. The comment was seen as a swipe to Akash Anand.

A Floundering Political Drive

The BSP’s management flip-flops are enjoying out in opposition to the backdrop of its huge electoral setbacks over the previous few years which have raised questions on its political future. The BSP, which gained 206 seats within the Uttar Pradesh Meeting in 2007, gained only one seat within the 2022 state polls. Within the Lok Sabha, the get together gained 10 seats within the 2019 polls, when it contested in an alliance with the Samajwadi Social gathering. This time, it determined to go solo and drew a clean and new political forces such because the Chandrashekar Azad-led Azad Samaj Social gathering dented the BSP’s conventional help base.