Political fate of Mayawati’s nephew hangs on upcoming state polls

Akash Anand is credited with BSP's online media influence; he was present during Tejashwi and Mayawati's 2019 alliance meeting.

Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati, who has kept the reins of the party in her hands,, now seems to be passing on the baton to her nephew and the party’s national coordinator Akash Anand.

By handing over the responsibility of the assembly elections to be held in four states to Akash, she has started taking him forward. It is said that Mayawati is slowly preparing her second line leadership. The success and failure in these states will determine Akash’s future.

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If political experts are to be believed, after several failures in the Lok Sabha and assembly polls, Mayawati started promoting her nephew Akash Anand in politics and gave him important positions in the party.

He has been given election responsibilities in all four poll-bound states. Along with this, the party, which has distanced itself from agitations, demonstrations and padyatras, is now taking up padyatras to launch Akash properly.

Akash Anand started the ‘Sarvajan Hitaya, Sarvajan Sukhaya Sankalp Yatra’ of 3,500 kilometres in view of the Rajasthan assembly elections. This journey has also been named ‘Bahujan Adhikar Yatra’.

The yatra will pass through about 150 assembly constituencies of the state. Politician experts say that during the yatra, the BSP will work on a strategy to attract the Dalit, OBC and Muslim vote bank.

During the start of the yatra in Rajasthan’s Dholpur, Akash Anand said that the BSP will contest elections in the state with the resolution of Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay.

He said, “The BSP’s resolution will be that all classes of people should be getting benefited if it comes to power. The victims, the downtrodden and the exploited should get relief.”

A senior BSP leader said that ‘Behan Ji’ has given a big responsibility to Akash, in which there is a lot of challenge but there will be a lot to learn as well. “He is implementing his aunt’s social engineering formula. Youths will join him.”

Many experienced leaders, who are also engaged with him, will keep on giving him the knowledge to move forward from time to time. He said that there are challenges in all these states but there is a lot to learn.

In June, Akash along with two trusted leaders Ashok Siddharth and Ramji Gautam was entrusted with the responsibility of the assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana.

Meanwhile, Akash remained very active in Madhya Pradesh.

He marched to the Raj Bhavan on Tribal Day. His statement on Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar was in the limelight.

Political analyst Prasun Pandey says that elections in four states are enough for Akash Anand to prove himself. However, he hasn’t faced any major conflicts yet. Still, Mayawati has launched him well.

It is a big challenge for him to select loyal and winnable candidates in Rajasthan. The BSP used to have six MLAs at one point of time, but now they have joined the Congress. Similar will be the case in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where it will be a challenge for the  BSP to stop the decline in its vote share and to save its cadre.

Ratan Manilal, who has closely observed the politics of UP for many decades, says, “Mayawati’s leadership of the second number is over. She hasn’t even trusted anyone much. After the last 30 years, someone has been found who can be completely trusted and he can also be free to take decisions. In Mayawati’s absence, Akash will play the role of number two.”

“Whether it is propaganda or talks with any party, he will be Mayawati’s second voice. Mayawati is preparing her second tier leadership in through him. It will not be surprising if she slowly hands over her responsibilities to Akash. After all this, if Akash does not get the expected results, then further downfall of the party may start,” he added.

Akash Anand, the son of Mayawati’s younger brother Anand Kumar, has a MBA degree from a leading college in London.  Mayawati had launched Akash at a rally in Saharanpur in 2017 after losing the UP assembly elections.

It is believed that Akash Anand is the man behind the BSP’s hold on internet media. Akash was present when Lalu’s son Tejashwi met Mayawati during the 2019 alliance.

During the same election campaign, Akash was seen on the dais in a joint rally of Maya-Akhilesh. During that election, he had chalked out a strategy for the BSP. His role may become stronger in the times to come.