BSP chief Mayawati names nephew Akash Anand her political heir before 2024 polls
In a significant development, BSP supremo Mayawati declared at a key party meet held to discuss preparations for 2024 Lok Sabha polls that her nephew is her political heir
Mayawati, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief, who has always been a major critic of dynastic politics, has declared her nephew Akash Anand as her 'uttaradhikari' (heir) at a key party meet today (December 10).
The meeting, presided over by Mayawati, was called to take stock of BSP's preparations for the Lok Sabha polls.
"Akash (Anand) has been declared the 'uttaradhikari (heir)' by Mayawatiji," Udayveer Singh, the BSP's Shahjahanpur district unit chief, told reporters. He added that Anand has been given the responsibility to strengthen the party organisation all over the country except Uttar Pradesh.
The party's official statement, however, did not refer to this development.
Singh said Mayawati announced the decision during a meeting in the district that was attended by party leaders from across the country. He said, "Unhone (Mayawati) said he (Anand) will be her heir after her."
Who is Akash Anand?
Twenty-eight-year old Akash Anand, who is the national coordinator of the BSP, first hit the political scene when he got actively involved in Mayawati's Lok Sabha election campaign in 2019. In Akash Anand's official X account, he describes himself as "A young supporter of Baba Saheb's vision".
Earlier, Mayawati, had appointed her brother Anand Kumar national vice- president of the party in 2019 and nephew Akash was made a national coordinator.
In 2019, Akash Anand addressed his first political rally, encouraging people to support the Samajwadi Party-BSP-Rashtriya Lok Dal alliance, when the Election Commission imposed a 48-hour campaign ban on Mayawati. Before helping in Mayawati’s LS campaign, Akash was spotted at many BSP events and had also helped his aunt in her 2017 UP state poll campaign.
Mayawati's announcement regarding her political successor comes a day after the suspension of the BSP Lok Sabha MP Danish Ali, who was recently targeted on the floor of the house. Ali was suspended after he walked out of Lok Sabha proceedings with other Opposition members as a form of protest against the motion to expel TMC leader Mahua Moitra.