Lucknow, 2 March — BSP supremo Mayawati on Sunday removed her nephew Akash Anand from all party positions, declaring that she would not name a successor during her lifetime. “The party and the movement are supreme—relations come later,” she stated during a high-level meeting of BSP office-bearers from across the country.
In a series of leadership changes, Mayawati appointed her brother Anand Kumar and senior leader Ramji Gautam as national coordinators.
She attributed Akash Anand’s removal to factionalism allegedly fueled by his father-in-law, Ashok Siddharth, who was expelled from the BSP last month for anti-party activities.
“Siddharth divided the BSP nationwide and tried to weaken it. He also ruined Akash Anand’s political career,” she said.
Speaking on Kumar’s role in the party, Mayawati acknowledged his long-standing contributions. “He has always worked with devotion—handling paperwork, income tax matters, and legal affairs. He even quit his government job to care for [BSP founder] Kanshi Ram during his illness,” she said.
Kumar, she added, has ensured his children marry outside politics to prevent internal conflicts like the one involving Siddharth.
The meeting focused on strengthening the party at all levels, expanding its support base, and addressing organizational challenges, according to a party statement.
Mayawati also raised concerns over inflation, unemployment, and poverty, accusing both the Central and Uttar Pradesh governments of neglecting these issues.
“Government policies have failed to uplift millions of poor, laborers, Dalits, and backward communities. India is still a country of the poor despite being called a rich nation,” she said, criticizing the recent budgets as “unrealistic and detached from ground realities.”
Reaffirming the BSP’s commitment to BR Ambedkar’s ideals, she stated that the party would continue working for marginalized communities.
The meeting also finalized preparations for Kanshi Ram’s birth anniversary celebrations on March 15, with party workers set to pay tributes at memorials in Lucknow and Noida.
Mayawati also took a swipe at the Samajwadi Party (SP) over its loss in the Milkipur Assembly bypoll. “Even when the BSP did not contest, the SP suffered a humiliating defeat. Who will they blame now?” she remarked.
Labeling the SP and BJP as “two sides of the same coin,” she asserted that only the BSP, with its Ambedkarite policies, could challenge the ruling party.
