Mayawati reinstates nephew Akash in top BSP post, again names him successor

At the meeting, Mayawati said false propaganda” of Opposition parties on the alleged threat to the Constitution damaged the BSP. She instructed party leaders to spread awareness about how the same Congress that made the Constitution an electoral issue had “used all tactics to prevent the entry of B R Ambedkar in the Constituent Assembly”. She, according to the BSP statement, said that BJP-led NDA government at Centre was not fully stable and that party leaders should “work extensively” to strengthen the organisation’s base across India.

Mayawati appointed Akash, her nephew, as the party’s national coordinator in 2019 and in December last year named him her political successor, only to sack him last month. On May 7, the BSP chief said the decision to remove Akash would be in force “in the larger interest of the party and the movement … until he attains maturity”. The move came after the police in Sitapur in UP booked Akash for promoting enmity after he referred to BJP government as “aatankwadiyo ki sarkar (government of terrorists)”.

Following his aunt’s decision, Akash stopped campaigning mid-way through the Lok Sabha elections, leaving Mayawati as the lone face of the party. The party also received feedback from its candidates, all of whom lost, that Jatav Dalits as well as a section of Muslims, seen to be the BSP’s core voter base, would not have backed the Samajwadi Party (SP)-Congress alliance had Akash continued his campaign. His exit, the leaders said, sent a message that Mayawati had succumbed to the BJP’s pressure.

“His reappointment will help the BSP shed the tag of being the BJP’s B-team. It will help rebuild trust in our core voter base of Jatavs and Dalits,” said a party leader.

In Mayawati’s sudden change of heart, several BSP insiders also see the effect of Azad Samaj Party (Kanshiram) leader Chandrashekhar Aazad’s win from Nagina Lok Sabha seat. The BSP won the seat in 2019, when it contested the elections in alliance with the SP and RLD.

With the BSP’s electoral fortunes declining — it failed to win a single Lok Sabha seat and its vote share in UP plummeted from 19.3% to 9.3% — the emergence of a popular Dalit leader such as Aazad, who seems to have the backing of Dalits as well as Muslims, may have fast-tracked Akash’s reinstatement.

“Aazad will raise the issues of Dalits and Muslims in the House while travelling across the country. This will help him evolve as a Dalit leader and as an alternative to Mayawati, further weakening the BSP. To control this damage, Anand’s return was important,” said a BSP leader.