LUCKNOW: BSP national president Mayawati said on Tuesday that Ashok Siddharth, the father-in-law of her nephew Akash Anand, should take complete “sanyas” from politics. Only then, she said, would it be appropriate for Akash Anand to work freely in the party again.Akash Anand was the BSP’s national convener until September 3, when Mayawati announced at an all-India meeting of party office-bearers that he would work as an ordinary party worker. She said it would not be appropriate to give him any major responsibility, adding that he still needed to become more “mature.”Mayawati said on Tuesday that the party leadership will consider giving Akash Anand’s responsibilities back to him only after Ashok Siddharth gives up politics completely.Ashok Siddharth, a former Rajya Sabha MP of the party, was expelled by Mayawati on August 2 for alleged anti-party activities.What happened on September 3At the September 3 meeting, Mayawati told BSP office-bearers: “I have allowed Akash Anand to work in the party, which is before all of you, but Akash Anand still needs to become more mature. Till then, it would not be appropriate to give him a major responsibility in the party.”She said Akash Anand, as national coordinator, would continue to work in the party. Mayawati invoked BSP founder Kanshi Ram’s approach of allowing family members to assist with party work but opposing giving them election tickets or positions after the party came to power. “I am also completely committed to that resolve,” she said.At the same meeting, Mayawati announced that the BSP has decided to contest all elections across the country on its own, without alliances. She also described the Congress as “strongly anti-Dalit and anti-Ambedkar” and criticised the RSS, citing recent remarks by its chief Mohan Bhagwat during his US visit.Both Akash Anand and Ishan Anand, Mayawati’s younger nephew, attended the September 3 meeting.The reshuffle around himIn the same period, Mayawati has brought back several previously expelled leaders into the party fold.Former national coordinator Randhir Singh Beniwal, expelled in August for alleged anti-party activities and indiscipline, has rejoined the BSP and been assigned as central coordinator responsible for organising the party in selected states. Senior leader Ashok Siddharth was removed at the same time as Beniwal but remains outside the party.Dharamveer Ashok, a former minister in the Mayawati-led UP government in 2007 and a former member of the legislative council, was expelled in April on similar charges and was readmitted in August.Meerut-based leaders Mohit Anand and Nitin Singh have also been named central coordinators. Singh was expelled last year and reinstated a few months later.Party sources said Mayawati is expanding the BSP’s organisation at the national and state levels, with several returning leaders appointed as central coordinators to build cadres, oversee outreach, and strengthen the party’s footprint in their allotted states.Ishan Anand may get his first party roleMayawati has also dropped hints that she may appoint Ishan Anand, her younger nephew, as in charge of Sector-1 and Sector-2 in the party organisation, according to sources aware of a late-night meeting of national-level office-bearers held at her residence. No official announcement has been made.Sector-1 and Sector-2 cover all state units except Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, which remain under Mayawati’s direct supervision. If confirmed, the role would be Ishan Anand’s first formal responsibility in the BSP.Ishan Anand, 27, is a graduate in legal studies from the University of Westminster in the UK. He made his first public appearance on the party stage on January 15, 2025, during Mayawati’s birthday event, and attended a state-level meeting of the BSP’s UP unit the next day — seen at the time as a signal of his growing involvement ahead of the 2027 assembly elections.The election contextThe developments come ahead of the 2027 Punjab assembly election and the subsequent Uttar Pradesh assembly election. On August 25, Mayawati announced that the BSP would contest the Punjab polls “alone without any alliance or compromise with anyone,” saying electoral tie-ups risked weakening the party’s vote share and demoralising its cadre.The decision is significant for the BSP in Punjab, where founder Kanshi Ram began his political journey and where Scheduled Castes account for 31.94% of the population — the highest proportion of any state, according to the 2011 Census. Uttar Pradesh has the highest SC population in absolute numbers, at over 4.13 crore.
