Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Occasion (BSP) chief Mayawati has declared her nephew Akash Anand as her political inheritor, telling social gathering employees to think about him their chief if one thing have been to occur to her. The choice flew within the face of her earlier declarations that her political successor wouldn’t be somebody from the household.
Akash (28) has an MBA diploma and studied at College of Plymouth in England, after having accomplished his preliminary education from a non-public faculty in Noida, in keeping with his LinkedIn profile. He was formally launched to BSP employees in September 2017, after the Bharatiya Janata Occasion (BJP) gained the Uttar Pradesh meeting elections that yr.
Since then, he has been seen because the “heir apparent” of the four-time chief minister, who appointed him as BSP’s nationwide coordinator within the wake of the 2019 common election.
Mayawati made her choice official Sunday, on the finish of an hour-long assembly with the social gathering’s senior leaders, following the declaration of outcomes of elections to 5 state assemblies. She advised them to “consider Akash as her successor in case of an untoward happening with her, just like BSP founder Kanshi Ram named her his successor”.
“Behen ji said just like Kanshi Ram ji announced her name, in the same way, Akash should be considered her successor if something were to happen to her. She said she was informing us about it today (Sunday), in advance. As of now, Behen ji is the supremo,” A.N. Bhasker, who labored as an Officer on Particular Obligation (OSD) to Mayawati throughout her fourth stint as chief minister (2007-12), advised ThePrint.
He added that whereas Mayawati mentioned Akash will oversee social gathering functioning in states apart from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand for now, she may also rely on him to agency up the social gathering’s prospects in UP within the days to come back.
Akash Anand was current within the assembly, as he has been in most up-to-date nationwide and state-level conferences of the social gathering. The BSP chief was seen taking his help to climb up the steps to her dais, in keeping with social gathering leaders who attended the assembly.
The choice to call Akash her successor is being seen throughout the social gathering as Mayawati (67) passing the baton to the subsequent era.
Atar Singh Rao, former MLC and the social gathering’s in cost for West Bengal and Odisha, advised ThePrint that “Behen ji” was let down by social gathering leaders whom she relied on to revive the social gathering. “Many were made vice presidents but could not deliver on time and fulfill their responsibilities. Then he (Akash) caught her eye and seemed perfect for the role,” he mentioned.
Hinting at Mayawati’s age, Rao added that he was of the opinion that she doesn’t need the Bahujan motion to lose steam, which is why she declared her successor “in time”.
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New face of ‘Bahujan mission’
It was clear for a while now that Akash Anand was being groomed for an even bigger function. His duties grew manifold after he was appointed nationwide coordinator, following the defeat of the SP-BSP alliance within the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
“Behen ji said he (Akash) will look after states where the party is weak, except UP and Uttarakhand,” BSP chief Udayveer Singh mentioned, after the assembly Sunday.
Bhimrao Ambedkar, a former MLC and MLA, added, “He (Akash) is the national coordinator, he will go wherever Behen ji feels his requirement. Young BSP workers across the country are waiting for him and he will be welcomed enthusiastically wherever he goes.”
“The Bahujan mission got a new lease of life today. Behen ji works for 18 hours but people still point fingers. When Akash will start working, it will lead to a sense of renewed enthusiasm among workers,” he added.
Timeline of contradictions
Mayawati has at all times denied selling her members of the family throughout the social gathering. In 2007 after which once more in 2019, she made public declarations that her successor wouldn’t be a member of her household.
In 2018, she introduced that her brother Anand Kumar — Akash Anand’s father and a low-profile businessman earlier than he turned to politics — had provided to serve the BSP with out taking up any organisational function, at the same time as she remembered her mentor Kanshi Ram’s dedication to not let his kin declare his political legacy.
Nevertheless, by 2017, Mayawati had already appointed her brother as vp of the social gathering on the situation that he would by no means battle elections. In 2018, Anand Kumar was relieved of that accountability amid allegations of nepotism. The choice was preceded by inquiries about him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Earnings Tax division.
Nevertheless, her brother and nephew have been again within the prime echelons of the social gathering when she appointed them as vp and nationwide coordinator, respectively, in June 2019.
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Satisfied Mayawati to hitch Twitter
In response to social gathering leaders, Akash Anand is the person behind the social gathering’s social media presence and is credited for convincing the BSP chief to hitch ‘X’ (previously Twitter).
“He has been working for the party’s social media and his work has been good in the past. It is possible that people didn’t know about him till he became a well-known figure in party circles. But his involvement increased when he was made national coordinator. He was working even before, but his work was not highlighted,” mentioned Bhasker.
Akash’s rising function within the social gathering turned clearer after the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Meeting elections when Mayawati mentioned she would ship him to completely different elements of the state to assemble real suggestions about work performed by the social gathering. Equally, Akash was noticed overseeing ballot preparations on the bottom within the recently-concluded meeting elections.
By the point Mayawati travelled to poll-bound Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, days earlier than polling day, Akash had already been reviewing ballot preparations in each states.
In August, when the BSP launched the 14-day “Sarvajana Hitay Sarvajan Sukhay Sankalp Yatra,” from Dholpur to Jaipur, Akash managed the occasion and addressed a number of public conferences in as many as 100 meeting constituencies throughout Rajasthan.
“He (Akash) visited different parts of MP in the run-up to the assembly polls and would pass on Behen ji’s directives to workers on the ground,” mentioned a frontrunner from the BSP’s Madhya Pradesh unit.
‘Akash does not have an aura yet’
Political consultants mentioned the BSP chief’s announcement Sunday is indication that she has made up her thoughts to retire. Shashikant Pandey, Head of Division, political science, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar College, advised ThePrint that Mayawati could have realised that her political profession has already peaked.
“Just like Mulayam Singh Yadav passed on the baton to son Akhilesh and others have done in the past, she too must have realised that it was time to pass on the baton to the next generation. She may have felt this is the right time to anoint her successor, thinking that he is a young face and may help the BSP’s declining fortunes in the state,” he mentioned.
Pandey, nevertheless, added that Akash Anand’s appointment was completely different as a result of Kanshi Ram at all times mentioned that nobody from his household can be his political successor and Mayawati, too, had made statements to that impact.
“However, while older workers who worship their leader may like her decision, the younger lot in the party may question it thinking that Mayawati is no different. They may feel that the party that rose on the plank of social justice did nothing different,” he mentioned.
Suggesting that the switch of energy could have little influence on the social gathering’s fortunes, he added: “While transfer of power from Mulayam to Akhilesh was gradual, Akash remained hidden from public view for a long time. He did not cover the length and breadth of the state nor was he seen in public rallies as is seen in the case of other politicians.”
“Akash Anand does not have an aura as of now and his accessibility is not wide,” he mentioned, including that not many BSP employees are accustomed to the 28-year-old.
“It is hard to say that he would be able to connect with people. Accessibility will take time,” Pandey advised ThePrint.
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What this implies for political equations in UP
In response to Pandey, given BSP’s flailing electoral fortunes, particularly within the state the place it rode to energy with a majority in 2007 — which can also be the state that sends extra MPs to the Lok Sabha than every other — is prone to stay a bipolar one, with the BJP and its allies on one aspect and the Samajwadi Occasion (SP) and its alliance companions on the opposite.
“The BSP is likely to be cornered in the coming polls as well because Muslims have parted ways from it and the majority of them side with SP. So this announcement will most likely not amount to any big changes as far as state politics is concerned,” he mentioned.
The BSP didn’t win any mayoral seats within the 2022 municipal elections, in comparison with the 2 it gained in 2017. And within the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Meeting polls, it was decreased to only one seat, marking its worst electoral exhibiting since 1991.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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