BSP chief questions his ‘maturity’: After his attack on BJP, Maya sacks nephew as her heir

In a post on X, Mayawati said Akash won't be reinstated until he attains "maturity"

New Delhi | Updated: May 8, 2024 05:35 AM IST

3 min read

Mayawati with nephew Akash Anand. (File)

BSP leader Mayawati announced Tuesday she was removing her nephew Akash Anand as her political heir and the party national coordinator “until he attains maturity”. He had been named her successor barely six months ago.

Mayawati announced her decision in a post on X, 10 days after Akash, along with other party leaders, was booked by Sitapur police in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly promoting hatred and enmity, among other charges under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Representation of the People Act.

In a video of his address at an election rally, Akash was heard calling the BJP government “gaddaron ki sarkar” (a government of traitors) and urging people to hit representatives of other parties seeking votes with shoes and slippers.

After the case was filed on April 28, Akash returned to Delhi and all his upcoming rallies in different constituencies were cancelled.

In her post Tuesday, Mayawati said, “It is known that the BSP, apart from being a party, is also a movement for self-respect and self-esteem of Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar and social change for which Honourable Shri Kanshi Ram Ji and I have dedicated our entire lives and a new generation is also being prepared to give it momentum.”

“In this direction, along with promoting other people in the party, I had declared Shri Akash Anand as the National Coordinator and my successor, but in the larger interest of the party and the movement, he is being divested of both these important responsibilities until he attains full maturity,” she said.

She said Anand Kumar, father of Akash, will continue to fulfil his responsibilities in the party and the movement as before. “The BSP leadership is not going to shy away from making every sacrifice in the interest of the party and the movement and in taking forward the caravan of Baba Saheb Dr Ambedkar,” she said.

Story continues below this ad

Mayawati had declared Akash her successor in December last year and had given him the key responsibility of the party’s national coordinator. He played an active role in spearheading the party’s campaign in the Rajasthan Assembly polls last year.

For the Lok Sabha polls in UP, he was to be the party’s key campaigner after Mayawati and had held around 20 election rallies before he attacked the BJP in his Sitapur address on April 28.

From the homepage