The in-law now outlawed: Who is Ashok Siddharth, the ex-BSP MP facing Mayawati wrath along with nephew

In fact, in recent months, in the midst of a raging turmoil in the BSP as its electoral fortunes slide, Siddharth, 60, has often been in Mayawati’s crosshairs.

Hailing from Kaimganj tehsil of Farrukhabad district in Uttar Pradesh, Siddharth belongs to a family which had been active in the Ambedkarite movement. He even spent a few weeks in a Farrukhabad jail as a six-month-old child, where his mother Vitoli Devi and father Ganpat Lal Premi were lodged for their participation in such a campaign.

It was not the first time his parents spent time in jail due to their active involvement in various social and political campaigns, and this is believed to have fuelled Siddharth’s interest in politics.

Sources said Siddarth’s parents, however, insisted that he finish his studies before considering an active role in politics. After completing his post-graduation in history, Siddharh hence did a diploma in optometry from a medical college in Jhansi. He got a government job in the UP Health Department and was posted in Kannauj, which was then a part of Farrukhabad district, where he practised optometry as a refractionist.

BSP sources said Siddharth was called “Doctor” within the party ranks due to this. However, Mayawati once objected to it as he did not have a degree in medical science.

In early 2000’s, Siddharth came to Mayawati’s attention, who appointed him the Farrukhabad district convener of the BAMCEF (Backward and Minority Community Employees’ Federation), a government employees’ body established by BSP founder Kanshi Ram. Subsequently, Mayawati asked him to quit his government job and work full-time in politics. Siddharth followed suit and started working for the BSP.

In 2009, two years after she took over as UP Chief Minister for her fourth term, and first with a majority on her own, Mayawati nominated Siddharth as a member of the state Legislative Council, where he served till 2015. In 2016, the BSP nominated him as a Rajya Sabha member, where his term expired in 2022.

In March 2023, Akash got married to Siddharth’s daughter Pragya, who had graduated in medicine from London. Akash, the son of Mayawati’s younger brother Anand Kumar, had also got his MBA degree in London.

A senior BSP leader said that Anand Kumar and Siddharth were friends, and it was the closeness of their families that led to Akash and Pragya tying the knot.

While both Akash and Siddarth have now fallen out of Mayawati’s favour, Anand Kumar remains in her good books. When removing Akash as national coordinator, Mayawati had named Kumar to the post. On Wednesday, Kumar, who is also the national vice-president, requested that he be relieved as national coordinator so that he could concentrate on one post.

During his stint as the BSP MLC or MP, Siddharth had been the party in-charge of various UP regions including Prayagraj, Basti, Gorakhpur, etc. He was considered close to Mayawati.

At the time of his expulsion from the party, Siddharth was in-charge of the party affairs in southern states including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Earlier he had also served as the Maharashtra party in-charge, from where he was removed on the eve of the November 2024 Assembly polls.

Siddharth was considered a BSP heavyweight for being a relative of the BSP’s first family. But he fell out of Mayawati’s favour after some BSP leaders recently complained to her that he was promoting factionalism in the party and had not invited several senior leaders to a family wedding in Agra, which was attended only by those perceived to be close to him.

While stunning the BSP rank and file by sacking Akash from key party posts, Mayawati was unsparing of Siddharth. “You are aware that Siddharth’s daughter is married to him (Akash). We will have to watch how much influence Siddharth will exert on his daughter after his expulsion and how much influence she will exert on Akash. That is not appearing positive so far. In such a situation Akash has been removed from all party responsibilities in the interest of the party and the movement. Siddharth is completely responsible for this and has damaged the party while ruining Akash’s career,” she said in a statement.

Siddharth was not available for comment despite repeated calls and messages.