BSP chief Mayawati names nephew, Akash Anand, as her successor

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati named nephew Akash Anand as her successor in the unit. The meeting, convened by Mayawati, was held to look into the party’s preparations for the Lok Sabha polls where Akash was also given the responsibility to strengthen the BSP.

"BSP chief Mayawati has announced Akash Anand as her successor," BSP leader Udayveer Singh, who was present at the meeting, told ANI. He added that Akash Anand would take stock of BSP's presence and poll preparations where the party is weak. "Behen ji would continue to lead the party in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and Anand ji will lead the party in other states," Singh said.

Akash Anand had been seen as someone who would succeed the BSP president as the party leader who was also said to be in charge of party affairs since last year. He is the son of Mayawati's younger brother, Anand Kumar, who is perceived as next to the "behen ji" in the BSP. Mayawati's brother Anand Kumar was appointed as the vice-president of the party in 2019, and Akash Anand was made the national coordinator.

The announcement was made at the party meeting in Lucknow on Sunday. In a post on X, the BSP chief said, "10-12-2023-BSP Press Release-All-India Party Meeting".

Akash Anand was also listed as one of the star campaigners for his party during the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, with his first poll campaign in Rajasthan. Akash Anand held major responsibilities for the four recently held elections, particularly in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The BSP won two seats in Rajasthan but drew a blank in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana in the recent Assembly polls.

Anand's visibility in Mayawati's party circle, coupled with his padayatra in Rajasthan's Alwar in 2022, also gained momentum in the party's strategy ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, now barely five months away.

28-year-old Anand participated in a 13-km "Swabhiman Sankalp Yatra" in Alwar on the birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar. He was also visible in BSP's poll campaigning in Rajasthan in 2019, garnering support for the Samajwadi Party-BSP-Rashtriya Lok Dal alliance.