Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has reappointed her nephew Akash Anand as the party’s national convenor, reversing her decision to remove him from the organisation less than a month ago. The decision marks the latest turn in a prolonged and at times unpredictable leadership episode involving Mayawati, her brother Anand Kumar and his two sons — Akash and Ishan Anand.
She had accused him of putting family and personal interests ahead of the party’s interests. The family political drama had also drawn in his father-in-law, Ashok Siddharth, a former BSP Rajya Sabha member and senior party functionary. Mayawati had made Siddharth’s retirement from politics a condition for Akash’s possible return to the party.
Siddharth subsequently announced his retirement, but Mayawati still went ahead with Akash’s expulsion on September 10.
On September 10, Mayawati announced that she was setting him “completely free” from the BSP. At the time, she said Akash’s conduct and his family associations had become a matter of concern.
Akash had earlier been removed, reinstated and subsequently elevated within the party leadership before again falling out with his aunt.
Akash Anand, once presented as his aunt’s political successor, has repeatedly been removed from and restored to senior positions in the BSP. The decision was subsequently followed by his removal from the party altogether.
In a post on X on Monday, Mayawati said the decision to bring him back had been taken after “considerable thought” and in the interest of the party. She said Akash had been given another opportunity to work within the party and expressed hope that the organisation would now function without repeated changes in its leadership. “After considerable thought, the party has decided, in the interest of the party and the movement, to once again appoint Akash Anand as the BSP’s national convenor and give him an opportunity to work in the party again,” she said. On September 3, she removed Akash from the post of national convenor, saying he needed greater “maturity” and that it would not be appropriate to entrust him with significant responsibilities at that stage.
