Mayawati Expels Nephew Akash Anand From BSP Again, Citing Divided Loyalties

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Thursday declared her nephew Akash Anand "completely freed" from the party, the latest and possibly most decisive turn in a years-long on-again, off-again succession saga that has repeatedly unsettled the BSP's leadership structure ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

What Mayawati Said

In a post on X, Mayawati said Anand appeared more concerned with his personal and family relationships than with his political career or the interests of the party and the wider Bahujan movement. She pointed to his failure to repost an earlier message of hers as evidence, in her telling, that his loyalties lay elsewhere. She added that a leader who remained "double-minded" between family and movement could not be expected to serve the BSP effectively, and confirmed he was now free to pursue his own path independently of the party.

The Timing

The announcement came shortly after Ashok Siddharth, Anand's father-in-law and a former Rajya Sabha member, announced his retirement from politics and public life. Mayawati had previously suggested that any reinstatement of Anand's responsibilities within the party depended on Siddharth stepping back from politics entirely. When that retirement was finally announced, Mayawati said it had come too late to spare the party, the movement, or Anand himself the difficulties of the past several months, and used the occasion to formalize his exit instead of offering him a path back.

Anand had already been stripped of his role as BSP's national coordinator on September 3, the latest in a cycle of removals and reinstatements that stretches back to before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when Mayawati first publicly positioned him as her political heir. He was removed from responsibilities during that campaign, restored shortly after, and went through at least one more round of removal and rehabilitation in 2025.

Why It Matters

The repeated reversals have left the question of the BSP's future leadership unresolved at a delicate moment for the party. The BSP has struggled electorally in recent cycles, and Mayawati is simultaneously trying to rebuild its organizational strength, broaden its social coalition beyond its traditional base, and convert whatever vote share remains into seats when Uttar Pradesh goes to the polls in 2027. A fractured or uncertain succession plan complicates all three goals, particularly in a state where the BSP once formed government on its own but has since ceded ground to rivals.

Political observers will now watch whether this latest expulsion proves final or whether, as in past cycles, family and political considerations eventually bring Anand back into the fold. For now, Mayawati has signaled she intends to lead the 2027 campaign preparations without him occupying a formal leadership role, a shift that could reshape how the party positions its next generation of leadership in the run-up to the polls.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.