Daijiworld Media Network - Lucknow

Lucknow, Oct 18: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has praised her nephew Akash Anand for prioritising the party over family ties and showing maturity following the retirement of his father-in-law, Ashok Siddharth, from politics.

In a post on X on Sunday, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said Anand, who was recently reappointed as the BSP’s national coordinator, had placed the party and its movement above personal and family relationships after Siddharth retired from politics in September.

Mayawati said members of the Bahujan community had high expectations from Anand and that he was working hard to fulfil his responsibilities. She also announced a series of public meetings and programmes that he will address in Uttar Pradesh and other states.

According to the schedule, Anand will address BSP public meetings in Bulandshahr on October 28, Saharanpur on November 2, Ayodhya on November 20, Agra on November 22 and Kanpur Nagar on November 29. He will also participate in a seminar organised by the BSP in Punjab on Constitution Day, November 26.

On December 6, the death anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar, Anand will address a seminar or public meeting in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar district, Mayawati said.

The BSP chief also held Siddharth responsible for the party’s past “unpleasant developments”, saying he had been expelled from the party and advised to retire from politics. She cautioned party workers against rumours and attempts by “selfish elements” to mislead them, urging them to work wholeheartedly to ensure the success of Anand’s programmes.

“There is not an iota of truth in the rumours that Ashok Siddharth, like Akash Anand, will be taken back into the party,” Mayawati said, according to the Press Trust of India. She made it clear that Siddharth would not be readmitted under any circumstances.

In another announcement, Mayawati said Anand’s brother, Ishan Anand, had completed his law studies in London and would work as an active party worker at the BSP’s central office in Delhi under her guidance. He would primarily assist with election-related work and other paperwork, she said.

The announcements signal Akash Anand’s renewed role in the party’s activities, while confirming Ishan Anand’s responsibilities at the Delhi office and ruling out any possibility of Siddharth’s return to the BSP.