Mayawati Expels Nephew Akash Anand From BSP After Ultimatum Over Father-in-Law

The Bahujan Samaj Party witnessed an unusual political rupture this week, as party supremo Mayawati expelled her nephew Akash Anand, closing a chapter that had once appeared to mark him as her political heir.

Announcing the decision through a post on X, Mayawati said Akash was "completely free" if he wished to be independent in the party. Her stated reasons were that he had not reposted her post and that his father-in-law, Siddharth Ashok, had delayed announcing his retirement from politics.

An ultimatum and a delayed reply

Mayawati had earlier made Akash's return to an active role conditional on Ashok announcing his political sanyas. Ashok, a former BSP national coordinator and one-time Rajya Sabha member, complied within a day, declaring that he was ready to lay down his life for the party and its leader and that he had never sought to control the organisation.

That response came too late. Party sources said Mayawati was angered by the 24-hour delay, though those close to Ashok said he had been unwell and was admitted to a Lucknow hospital, which held up his reply.

Behind the scenes, a party leader is said to have approached Akash on Wednesday asking him to repost Mayawati's post attacking his father-in-law. Akash, who had changed his profile on X and deleted the app from his phone after an earlier sacking, reportedly responded that there was little point, since the party leadership did not trust him and had referred to him in the post as Ashok's son-in-law rather than as her nephew. That reply is believed to have sealed the decision.

A relationship that unravelled

Akash's association with the BSP predates his entry into electoral politics. He had left government service to work with an organisation founded by Kanshi Ram, Mayawati's mentor, and became friendly with her brother, Anand Kumar. He was later given a term in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council and then sent to the Rajya Sabha.

In March 2023, Akash married Ashok's daughter, Dr Pragya Siddharth, in Gurugram, with Mayawati present to bless the couple. Nine months later, she publicly named him her successor. The relationship deteriorated after that announcement.

Between 2024 and 2026, Akash faced a series of public actions against him. He was removed from the post of national coordinator and stripped of the successor title in May 2024, sacked from the post and ejected from the party in March 2025, removed as national convenor on September 3, and expelled on September 10. Ashok has been expelled from the party twice.

The struggle beneath the family drama

The sequence of events, with its aunt-nephew and son-in-law-father-in-law overtones, has drawn comparisons to film plots. But party insiders describe a more structural contest: a tussle between leaders long trusted by Mayawati and the family members she inducts and promotes.

Those trusted leaders are aware they are unlikely to be named successor, and are said to work to protect their turf by undermining the dynasts. The rise of Ashok and the anointment of Akash, one leader observed, had narrowed the space available to other coordinators.

The party's dependence on a small circle for information and feedback, and Mayawati's reluctance to delegate authority, are seen as factors that shaped the outcome. Similar treatment was meted out in the past to Akash's father, Anand Kumar, and to leaders such as Naseemuddin Siddiqui and Babu Lal Kushwaha.

Anand Kumar was appointed party vice president in 2017 to run affairs in Mayawati's absence, but was barred from contesting elections or taking final decisions on tickets. He stepped down in May 2018 amid complaints from a faction, only to return to the post in June 2019, when his son was also brought in as national coordinator.

The BSP now faces a question it has confronted before: the need for younger leaders. Mayawati's younger nephew, Ishaan Anand, is seen as an inexperienced replacement, and insiders warn that the difficulties that ended Akash's stint could recur with him.