Opinion Express View on Mayawati’s successor Akash Anand: Out of ideas
Mayawati naming her nephew for the role shows why BSP – once a formidable force – has declined so steeply.
Little is known about Anand other than that he studied in London before becoming a prominent face in the BSP in 2017. 
In 2008, Mayawati was unequivocal about at least one aspect of the future of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP): In her autobiography, Mere Sangharshmay Jeewan Ka Safarnama, she stated: “Whenever I will declare my successor, he will not be from among my… relatives.” Much has changed since then for the BSP and its place in Indian politics. Sunday’s announcement by the party supremo that Akash Anand, her nephew, will be her successor is symptomatic of the lack of political imagination that has accompanied and, to a large extent, caused the BSP’s decline. It shows that the party is out of ideas.
Little is known about Anand other than that he studied in London before becoming a prominent face in the BSP in 2017. He has no mass base and by the cold logic of electoral arithmetic, has underperformed: Anand oversaw the BSP campaigns in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh in the recently-held assembly elections. In Rajasthan, the party went down from six seats in 2018 to four; in both MP and Chhattisgarh, it went from two seats to 0 and, in Telangana, the BSP failed to open its account once again. This is in addition to the fact that the BSP has just one MLA in Uttar Pradesh — a state where it had a majority in 2007.
It is easy to forget how formidable a force BSP was in UP at its height. With Mayawati — a self-made Dalit woman leader — at the helm, it became a party that spoke for and to Dalits in the Hindi heartland. That Mayawati managed to form a social coalition between Dalits and Brahmins to shore up her base shows what the party was once capable of. The problem with the elevation of Anand, then, is not just related to notions of “dynasty”. It is about a loss of political ingenuity. As the era of one-party dominance has re-emerged on the national scene, the BSP has been unable to find ways to attract voters. It has not been on the streets, even as other groups and leaders have agitated on issues of representation and dignity – from the anti-CAA protests to ones against anti-Dalit violence. It protests now only when Mayawati is personally attacked. Worse, it blames voters when it loses — as Mayawati did with Muslim voters after the 2022 UP elections. The BSP needs to introspect and change if it wishes to stay relevant. The task for Akash is cut out.
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