Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], September 10 (ANI): Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Thursday announced that her nephew Akash Anand has been “fully relieved” from the party, days after he was removed as its national coordinator. She said both Anand and his father-in-law Ashok Siddharth appeared to be more focused on personal and family interests than on the Bahujan movement.
Her announcement comes shortly after former Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Siddharth declared his total retirement from politics and social life.
The shake-up comes on the heels of Mayawati’s public ultimatum linking Anand’s potential rehabilitation within the party structure to the complete political sanyas (renunciation) of Siddharth, who is also Anand's father-in-law. Despite Siddharth's statement to step aside, Mayawati moved to relieve Anand of all party responsibilities.
In an X post, Mayawati said Siddharth's decision, while correct, had come too late. "Today, Ashok Siddharth's announcement of retiring from politics is a correct step, albeit taken too late," she said, adding that an earlier decision would have spared the party, the Bahujan movement and Akash Anand from "continuous adverse circumstances", especially amid preparations for forming the government in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2027 assembly elections.
While calling Siddharth's retirement "a good thing," in line with the saying "better late than never," she said his delay in announcing it proved that his ambitions "remain fully intact".
"If Ashok Siddharth had even a little concern for the bright future of his son-in-law Akash Anand, as well as for the broader interests of the BSP and its Ambedkarite Bahujan Movement (which should naturally be present in him), then without delay, he would have announced his retirement from politics immediately yesterday. This would have ensured Akash Anand's active involvement in the party and the movement to a great extent. But the fact that this did not happen proves that the flaw and ambition in Ashok Siddharth's intentions have not diminished at all; rather, they remain fully intact even now," she said.
Mayawati also criticised Akash Anand for not reposting her earlier statement on X, noting that he had previously been quick to repost her posts to demonstrate his loyalty. She said his failure to do so this time, despite the post being in his own interest, showed his priorities lay with
family and personal interests" rather than the party.
"It is the BSP that has elevated both of them, along with many others, from the floor (ground) to the heights of the sky (heavens). For this, no matter how much gratitude and indebtedness all these people feel toward the BSP and its leadership, it would still be too little--that's what everyone believes," she said.
"If Akash Anand cares less about the true interests of the party and the movement, and about his own career connected to it, and more about attachments to relationships and kin, etc., then it is natural for the question to arise: How can Akash Anand, with a double mind, possibly do good for the BSP party and the movement?" she added.
Mayawati said that just as Anand had been relieved of his responsibilities as national coordinator on September 3, he would now be "fully relieved (independent)" from the party with immediate effect.
"It seems better to the party members that just as he was relieved of all the important responsibilities of the highly crucial position of National Coordinator on September 3, 2026, in the same way, he should now be completely freed (independent) from the party starting today. Thus, if Akash Anand wants to remain independent in the party now, he is independent--meaning that in this case, he has been fully relieved from the party," she said.
She called on all BSP workers to remain fully committed to the party's goal of forming a full-majority government in Uttar Pradesh.
Siddharth, who is Anand's father-in-law, was earlier expelled from the BSP in March over allegations of factionalism before being reinstated in September. Anand was appointed the party's national coordinator and removed from the post on September 3, with Mayawati citing the need for him to gain further maturity. (ANI)
"Akash Anand cares less about party, more about relationships": Mayawati ousts nephew from BSP
