Why Mayawati showed nephew Akash the door

Action comes amid the perception in a section of the party that Akash Anand and his father-in-law were calling the shots and leaders close to the BSP president were being sidelined

- Rajesh Kumar Singh

LUCKNOW: The exit or ouster of high-profile leaders is not a new development in Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), but the unceremonious removal of her nephew Akash Anand from key party posts by BSP chief Mayawati on Sunday followed by his expulsion on Monday has sent ripples in the party.

Mayawati had been grooming Akash Anand (30), son of her brother Anand Kumar, as her political successor since 2017. She appointed Akash Anand as the party's national coordinator in June 2019. In December 2023, she named him as her political heir. During the Lok Sabha election campaign in May 2024, she removed Akash from the post of party national coordinator, as well as her successor, after an FIR in a hate speech case was lodged against him in Sitapur.

Akash's fiery speeches in public meetings, jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and interviews to the media were considered against the party line. But family ties prevailed and Mayawati reinstated Akash to key posts in August 2024 and tasked him with leading the party campaign in Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi assembly elections. From the family, Akash Anand was seen as Generation Next in the BSP whom Mayawati trusted.

What went wrong between the aunt and nephew?