Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Sunday removed her nephew Akash Anand from all posts of the party. The BSP also announced the appointment of Anand Kumar and Ramji Gautam as the National Coordinators of the party. In a press release dated March 2, Mayawati said she is expelling Ashok Siddharth, who is also the father-in-law of Akash Anand for "factionalism." "Being an honest and loyal disciple and successor of BSP founder Kanshi Ram, I have expelled Ashok Siddharth, who is also the father-in-law of Akash Anand, from the party in the interest of the party. He has done this heinous act of weakening the party by dividing it into two factions in the entire country including Uttar Pradesh, which is absolutely intolerable, and all this was also seen in the wedding of his son." Mayawati said that Akash Anand is married to Ashok Siddharth's daughter and how much influence the latter has on his girl and how much influence she has on Akash, will have to be looked into seriously, which does not seem to be positive at all till now. "In such a situation, in the interest of the party that Akash Anand be been separated from all the responsibilities of the party, for which not the party but his father-in-law Ashok Siddharth is completely responsible and which has damaged the political career of Akash Anand along with causing damage to the party," Mayawati further said. "And now in his place, Anand Kumar will continue to do all the work of the party like before, he will continue to do all the work of the party during my visits to Lucknow and outside. He has not disappointed me in any matter till now, he has not caused any harm to the party and the movement till now," she added in the letter. In June 2024, Mayawati had made her nephew Akash Anand her sole successor and entrusted the responsibility of National Coordinator of the party on him. Earlier too Mayawati had removed Akash from all the important posts of the party on May 7, 2024 in the middle of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, calling him immature.
