Mayawati Cuts Akash Anand Loose From BSP After Siddharth Quits Politics

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati has said her nephew Akash Anand has been "completely freed" from the party, a day after his father-in-law and former Rajya Sabha member Ashok Siddharth announced he was quitting politics and social life.

The move follows the BSP's decision on September 3, at a national meeting of party office-bearers in Lucknow, to strip Mr. Anand of the post of national coordinator. Ms. Mayawati had said at the time that he lacked the political maturity for major organisational roles.

In a fresh post, the BSP chief said party workers felt that just as Mr. Anand had been relieved of the coordinator's responsibilities, he should now be separated from the party altogether. She said he was free to remain independent if he wished, and that he had thus been "completely freed" from the BSP.

Ms. Mayawati questioned whether Mr. Anand could work effectively for the party while being "double-minded", suggesting his personal and family ties outweighed his political career and the party's interests. She cited his failure to repost an earlier post of hers on X as evidence of a stronger attachment to family than to the BSP and its movement.

Siddharth's retirement

Mr. Siddharth, who was expelled from the BSP on August 2 over alleged repeated indiscipline and anti-party activities, announced his retirement in an emotional post on X. He said he was stepping away from political and social life with immediate effect, and that giving his life for Ms. Mayawati would be a matter of pride.

Ms. Mayawati described the decision as a "correct step, though taken very late". She said the party had sought his retirement in the larger interest of the BSP, its movement and Mr. Anand, and that had he acted earlier, the party, the Bahujan community and Mr. Anand would have been spared "continuous adverse circumstances".

She also questioned his intentions, saying the announcement should have come immediately after her call for him to retire, and that the delay showed his ambitions had not changed completely. In her reading, it indicated that both men were more attached to personal and family interests than to the success of the party and its movement.

A day earlier, Ms. Mayawati had said the BSP would consider restoring Mr. Anand's responsibilities only if Mr. Siddharth retired completely from politics.

Appeal to workers

With an eye on the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, in which the party hopes to return to power for a fifth time, Ms. Mayawati said she had been compelled to take tough decisions. She said the BSP's Ambedkarite political tradition rested on sacrifice, struggle and keeping personal and family interests away from the movement, and urged workers to rise above personal ambition and the desire for positions.

She called on them to stay focused on the goal of returning to power in Uttar Pradesh and to work with full commitment towards establishing the party's "iron rule" in the State, based on law and order and development, with the principle of "Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay" as the overarching aim.