The Gen Z link to BSP’s plans for relaunching Mayawati’s nephew

The BSP’s move comes amid the BJP, the Samajwadi Party (SP), and the Congress sharpening their outreach to the youth through promises on jobs, crackdowns on paper leaks, transparent recruitment and direct engagement.

Anand’s plan

As a part of his re-launch, Anand will begin a series of workers’ meetings from western Uttar Pradesh on August 10, with the party also expected to announce candidates for the 2027 Assembly elections during these programmes.

Sources said Akash would address an open workers’ meeting in Hathras district on August 10, where the party is expected to announce Avin Sharma as its candidate from the Sadabad Assembly seat. Sharma had finished third as the BSP nominee from the seat in the 2022 elections.

Akash’s next meeting is scheduled for August 25 in Jewar, another constituency where the BSP had finished third in the last Assembly polls.

The party has tasked former Rajya Sabha MP Munquad Ali with overseeing preparations for these meetings. Ali said candidates were being announced well in advance to give them sufficient time to work in their constituencies before the election schedule is announced.

Sources said the party has also finalised candidates for Madhaugarh, Hasanpur, Hapur and Akbarpur-Raniya Assembly constituencies. The BSP had finished third in most of these seats in the 2022 elections.

According to sources, the candidates are currently being announced as “prabhari/pratyashi (in-charge)” and will be formally declared as nominees closer to the elections, scheduled for next year.

BSP Uttar Pradesh president Vishwanath Pal said the consolidated list of candidates was with Mayawati and individual names were being announced at the Assembly level. “Being a dedicated worker, party organisation and winnability are the criteria for selection of candidates,” he said, adding more details about Anand’s proposed meetings would be shared by Mayawati herself.

Sor far the BSP has announced JK Azad from Muhammadabad-Gohna (SC), Kavita Devi from Purqazi (SC), Firoz Aftab from Saharanpur, Arun Katiyar from Sikandara, Manoj Verma from Akbarpur and Mohd Mubashir from Barabanki.

Rocky past with Mayawati

Anand’s return to the field in Uttar Pradesh is being seen as his second innings in state politics. The last public meeting he addressed in the state was alongside Mayawati at the Kanshi Ram Memorial in Lucknow on October 9, 2025, the death anniversary of BSP founder Kanshi Ram.

His return also marks the latest chapter in an eventful relationship with Mayawati over the past two years. Projected as her political heir ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Anand was entrusted with leading the BSP’s campaign, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, as the party attempted to project generational change.

However, in May 2024, after being booked for allegedly promoting enmity over a campaign speech in Sitapur during the Lok Sabha elections, Mayawati removed her nephew as the party’s national coordinator and also withdrew her earlier declaration naming him as her political heir. He was also barred from campaigning.

Days later, Mayawati publicly accused Anand of acting under the influence of his father-in-law Ashok Siddharth, then a senior BSP leader, alleging that he had prioritised family interests over those of the party. Anand was briefly expelled from the BSP in March last year before being reinstated after expressing regret and pledging loyalty to the party leadership.

In May last year, she elevated him as the BSP’s chief national coordinator. Three months later, Mayawati appointed Anand as the party’s national convenor, signalling his formal rehabilitation within the party hierarchy after the public fallout.

Anand also campaigned for the BSP in the 2024 Haryana and 2025 Bihar Assembly elections. “However, he largely stayed away from public programmes in Uttar Pradesh and was confined to a handful of organisational meetings,” sources said.