Mayawati’s Nephew Akash Anand Her Successor
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo, Mayawati, has appointed her 28-year-old nephew, Akash Anand, as her political successor. The Uttar Pradesh-based party, breaking away from its typical approach of avoiding padyatras and demonstrations, initiated a 14-day “Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay’ Sankalp Yatra” in August in Rajasthan, led by Akash Anand ahead of the assembly elections. This extended padyatra and Akash’s prominent public role then indicated a strategic shift for the party in preparation for the assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, also marking a larger role for the son of Mayawati”s younger brother, Anand Kumar.
The decision was taken in an all India office bearers” meeting held at Lucknow today.
Akash joined the BSP in 2016 and was also one of the star campaigners for the party during the 2019 general elections.
In 2018, Akash was a visible face in the Rajasthan assembly election, and the party won six seats at that time.
The BSP, founded by politician and social reformer Kanshi Ram, who worked for the upliftment and political mobilization of the Bahujans (the backward or lower caste people, including untouchable groups), ruled four times in Uttar Pradesh, with Mayawati at the helm each time.
Recognized within party circles as Mayawati’s political successor early on, Anand has effectively overseen the party’s affairs in Rajasthan since the previous year. During this time, he conducted a tour of the state to assess the party’s organizational strength and participated in a 13-km yatra in Alwar on B R Ambedkar”s birth anniversary.
BSP, which claims to be inspired by the philosophies of Gautama Buddha, B. R. Ambedkar, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Narayana Guru, and Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj, has seen a decline in its political fortunes since the 2012 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. Mayawati was voted out in 2012 as she was able to secure only 80 seats against the 224 seats of the Samajwadi Party. In the previous government, the BSP had 206 seats in the Uttar Pradesh assembly.
In 2014 general elections, BSP secured the third highest vote share across the country and yet did not win a single seat. This was a major fall for the party that had managed 21 seats in the previous general elections in 2009 and also was instrumental in the existence of UPA government as it gave outside support to keep BJP away from from forming government.
Mayawati and Kanshi Ram shared a close political and ideological relationship, and the founder and Dalit leader named Mayawati, who started her career as a teacher in Delhi before entering politics, as his successor in 2001. Following Kanshi Ram”s passing in 2006, Mayawati became the undisputed leader of the BSP.
Mayawati, a Dalit woman from Uttar Pradesh, became associated with Kanshi Ram and the BSP in the late 1980s. Kanshi Ram recognized her leadership qualities and her commitment to the cause of social justice and under Kanshi Ram”s mentorship, Mayawati rose through the ranks of the BSP and became a prominent leader within the party.
Kanshi Ram played a crucial role in shaping Mayawati”s political career. He mentored her and actively supported her as she took on leadership roles within the party. After Kanshi Ram”s declining health in the late 1990s, Mayawati assumed greater responsibilities within the BSP.
