IT'S ALL ABOUT MAYA

Behenji may be down, but not out. That is what the leaders and cadres of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have been telling themselves for the 13 years since Mayawati was last chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

- Avaneesh Mishra

But a series of unpredictable actions—and none more bizarre than divesting nephew Akash Anand of all party responsibilities—has left them unsure. The action against Akash follows his father-in-law Ashok Siddharth's expulsion last week. If Akash was widely seen as Mayawati's chosen heir, Siddharth was her closest aide. A former Rajya Sabha MP, he played a significant role in ticket distribution and alliance negotiations and handled key responsibilities in the southern states. "She had even married off her nephew to his daughter," says a BSP functionary.

If Siddharth was removed ostensibly for encouraging groupism and anti-party activities, Akash's dethronement was on account of Siddharth's alleged undue influence on him via his daughter. "For this, not the party but his father-in-law Ashok Siddharth is completely responsible," Mayawati declared in a post on social media platform X. To fill the vacuum, the BSP supremo named her younger brother Anand Kumar, who is the party's national vice-president, as its national coordinator too. But with Kumar opting to retain only one post, party leader Randhir Beniwal was entrusted with the latter responsibility.