Lucknow: Nearly three years after Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati declared him as her political successor, nephew Akash Anand is once again an ordinary party worker. This marks the third instance in the past two years when aunt Mayawati took away key organisational responsibilities from the 31-year-old.
At a meeting of the BSP’s national-level office-bearers here Thursday, Mayawati said Akash would continue to work in the party but would not be given any major responsibility for now. “I have allowed Akash Anand to work in the party, which is before all of you, but he still needs to become more mature,” the BSP chief said. While Akash was not present at this meeting, younger brother Ishan Anand sat in the chair usually occupied by Akash. There has been no indication as yet about Ishan replacing Akash in any formal capacity.
In a statement issued after the meeting, Mayawati invoked BSP founder Kanshi Ram, her political mentor, to say that he allowed his family members and relatives to assist with party work but was never in favour of giving them tickets to contest elections or positions in government if the party came to power.
Mayawati maintained that she followed the same principle. Akash, she said, was allowed to work in the BSP but still needs to attain political maturity. According to her, the latest move was necessary to ensure that the BSP does not suffer electoral losses.
BSP leaders confirmed to ThePrint that Akash will no longer be handling the responsibilities of national coordinator for now.
His demotion follows reports in some local newspapers suggesting Akash would play a role in selecting BSP’s candidates for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Sources in the BSP said Mayawati was unhappy with these reports and was told that they had been planted by Akash’s father-in-law and former Rajya Sabha MP, Ashok Siddharth.
Mayawati had expelled Siddharth from the party in August.
Sources close to Akash Anand said he is upset with Mayawati’s decision but has little choice other than accepting it as fait accompli. Several political parties have approached Akash with offers to join them, but he is in no hurry, said one source.
The latest shake-up within the BSP also comes against the backdrop of the party’s declining electoral fortunes in Uttar Pradesh. In 2017, it contested all 403 seats, won 19 and secured 22.23 percent of the vote. In 2022, it again contested all 403 seats but won only a single seat, with its vote share falling to 12.88 percent—its lowest in the state since 1993.
The decline continued in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, when the BSP failed to win a single seat and its vote share in Uttar Pradesh dropped further to 9.46 percent.
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Why Akash Anand is under scrutiny
Last month, Akash Anand had written a post on X in support of Ankit Kumar, a Dalit cab driver who was reportedly banned by a cab aggregator after he objected to a group of passengers, supposedly “Railways employees”, making casteist remarks about a senior official from the Dalit community. In the same post, Akash wrote that millions of Dalit youngsters like Ankit were looking for answers from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, who has put forth his views on reservation on multiple occasions.
BSP insiders said Akash deleted the post after Mayawati told him to do so during a phone call.
When Akash was brought back into the party fold, Mayawati had advised him to reduce his media and social media presence, and focus instead on carrying out organisational assignments without drawing too much attention to himself, BSP insiders said.
Under the BSP’s current structure, only Mayawati dictates the party line or decides who can speak to the media and to what extent. Senior leaders such as Satish Mishra and state BSP chief Vishwanath Pal speak to the media, but their interactions are subject to restrictions.
Akash, on the other hand, is relatively more adept at media and social media management. He sought to modernise the BSP’s communication strategy and his team built a network of social media volunteers who regularly promote the party’s position online.
However, according to one BSP leader, this approach did not find favour with Mayawati.
“Behan ji is surrounded by senior leaders such as Satish Mishra and Ramji Gautam and takes advice from them. Akash was trying to bring young people into the party and wanted the BSP to become more visible in the media and on social media. He also wanted to break the party’s old organisational structure. This is why senior leadership keeps giving Mayawati negative feedback about him,” said the BSP leader, requesting anonymity.
The leader added that, owing to her limited engagement with the cadre, Mayawati now relies largely on senior leaders’ feedback. There is also some level of insecurity since she does not want any other power centre within the BSP, claimed the BSP leader. Adding, “Meanwhile, young leader Chandrashekhar is continuously reaching out to people and is also gaining acceptance. The space that he is occupying was left vacant by the BSP.”
Uttar Pradesh-based political analyst Shilp Shikha Singh said actions against Akash have weakened the BSP’s political narrative. “Perhaps no other party has treated its projected successor in this manner in such a short period. It has not only raised questions about Akash Anand’s credibility but has also weakened the party’s narrative,” she told ThePrint.
Singh said the latest developments could also strengthen the Opposition’s narrative that the BSP was not taking a strong enough position against the ruling BJP. “At a time when political parties are making efforts to attract young voters and leaders, the BSP is taking action against its own young leader.”
Seven years of political ups & downs
Akash Anand is the son of Mayawati’s younger brother Anand Kumar, who is also a vice president of the BSP.
Mayawati introduced Akash to BSP workers at a political rally in 2017 upon his return from London where he did his MBA. He was formally inducted into the party in April 2019 and emerged as one of its most prominent campaigners during the general election that year.
Mayawati named him as her political successor in December 2023 only to remove him from all party positions during the Lok Sabha campaign in May 2024 after one of his speeches led to the possibility of an FIR against him.
The BSP chief reinstated Akash to party posts in June 2024.
However, in March 2025, she again removed him from all party posts. In August that year, Akash apologised to Mayawati and was subsequently appointed national coordinator again.
A second BSP leader said the flip-flops have led to uncertainty not just over Akash’s political future but also the direction the BSP is taking. “Whenever Akash takes a position that could help revive the BSP or potentially hurt the BJP, a new crisis seems to emerge for him. Nothing is written down, but Mayawati’s decisions suggest that she remains caught between competing considerations.”
“The latest decision has put several more dots on Akash Anand’s political career. For him, the challenge now will not only be to rise again but also to erase these dots,” the leader told ThePrint, requesting anonymity. “How will Akash grow if Mayawati does not allow him to make mistakes and learn from them? Kanshi Ram gave Mayawati the opportunity to learn from her own mistakes, which helped her reach where she is today,” he added.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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