Who is Akash Anand, Mayawati's nephew, now sacked as her political heir?

BSP chief Mayawati's decision comes merely five months after she publicly declared Akash Anand as her apparent heir during a critical meeting of party officials in Lucknow

In a surprising turn of events, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has announced the removal of her nephew, Akash Anand, from his role as national coordinator and also her "political successor."

This decision, disclosed on Tuesday, arrives merely five months after Mayawati publicly declared him as her apparent heir during a key meeting of party officials in Lucknow in December 2023.

The timing of this announcement coincided with the third phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

Here's what has happened so far.

Mayawati 'sacks' nephew Akash Anand as heir

In her post on X (formerly Twitter), Mayawati said, "It is known that the BSP, apart from being a party, is also a movement for self-respect and self-esteem of Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar and social change for which Honourable Shri Kanshi Ram Ji and I have dedicated our entire lives and a new generation is also being prepared to give it momentum."

"In this direction, along with promoting other people in the party, I had declared Shri Akash Anand as the national coordinator and my successor, but in the larger interest of the party and the movement, he is being divested of both these important responsibilities until he attains full maturity," she added.

Mayawati also affirmed that Akash Anand's father, Anand Kumar, will continue to fulfil his responsibilities in the party and the movement as before.

She added, "The BSP leadership is not going to shy away from making every sacrifice in the interest of the party and the movement and in taking forward the caravan of Baba Saheb Dr Ambedkar."

 

Why did Mayawati sack Akash Anand?

While the precise reasons behind Mayawati's move remain undisclosed, it comes shortly after Akash Anand, aged 29, was booked by the Sitapur police in Uttar Pradesh, along with other party members, for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). 

This charge stemmed from an impassioned speech he delivered at an election rally, during which he was reported to have made contentious remarks about the government, reported NDTV.

In a video of his address at an election rally, Anand was heard saying, "This government is a bulldozer government and a government of traitors. The party that leaves its youth hungry and enslaves its elderly is a terrorist government. Taliban runs such a government in Afghanistan."

According to the Hindustan Times, further citing the National Crime Records Bureau (NCB) report of 16,000 kidnapping incidents in the state, Anand accused the government of failing to ensure the safety of women and children.

He further alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre is a 'party of thieves' who took Rs 16,000 crores through electoral bonds.

The district administration, taking note of the speech, booked a case against Anand and four others on April 28. Following the lodging of the case, Anand returned to Delhi, and all his scheduled rallies across various constituencies were subsequently cancelled, reported The Indian Express.

All you need to know about Mayawati's nephew, Akash Anand

Akash Anand, Mayawati's nephew, embarked on his political journey in 2017 at the age of 22. Holding an MBA degree from London, he made his initial foray into politics alongside Mayawati at a rally in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, sharing the platform with Akhilesh Yadav and Ajit Singh.

According to the Hindustan Times, on 16 April 2019, he addressed his first rally at Kothi Meena Bazar ground in Agra.

The BSP was then a part of the Mahagathbandhan, led by the Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati with Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal. It was an anti-Congress and anti-BJP alliance formed in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

Three days later, Akash Anand was seen at the Mainpuri's Christian College ground event, coinciding with the reunion of Mayawati and SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav on stage, marking a significant moment since the guest house incident of June 1995 in Lucknow.

In June 2019, during the party's national executive meeting, Anand assumed the role of the BSP's national coordinator. Several media reports suggest that Mayawati was grooming Anand for the long haul, a sentiment echoed during her 66th birthday celebration on January 15, 2022, where she hinted at a "bigger role" for him, reported the Hindustan Times.

Anand's responsibilities expanded to include managing the party's social media presence during the campaign for the 2022 UP Assembly elections, according to Livemint. 

He notably altered the party's traditional approach by initiating a 14-day "Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay" Sankalp Yatra in 2023, signalling a strategic shift for the BSP ahead of elections in Rajasthan and ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

His contributions extended beyond Uttar Pradesh, with active involvement in party campaigns across states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana, focusing on issues pertinent to Dalits, religious minorities, OBCs, and tribals.

In December last year, the 29-year-old was designated as Mayawati's political heir. 

His personal life also made headlines with his marriage to Pragya Siddharth, daughter of former BSP MP Ashok Siddharth, in a ceremony held in Gurugram on March 26, 2023.