BSP chief Mayawati reinstates nephew Akash Anand as her political successor

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Sunday reinstated her nephew Akash Anand as her political successor and the party’s national coordinator, party leader Sarvar Malik said, according to ANI.

The decision was taken at a meeting in Lucknow, during which the party sought to review the reasons for its defeat in the Lok Sabha election. The Bahujan Samaj Party could not win any seat in the parliamentary election, although it garnered 9.39% of the votes in Uttar Pradesh.

Mayawati had on May 7 removed Anand as the party’s national coordinator and her political successor “until he attains maturity”.

While she had not elaborated on what had led to her decision, it had come after Anand, along with other party leaders, was booked by Uttar Pradesh Police for allegedly promoting enmity after he used alleged unparliamentary language while criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party government at a rally.

At the election rally in Sitapur on April 28, Anand had described the BJP-led regime as a government of traitors.

“Where children go hungry, where women and girls face abuse, where the youth are jobless, and where people are exploited under the guise of free rations, there is a government of terrorists,” Anand said. “Such a government is run by the Taliban in Afghanistan.”

Mayawati had first named Anand as her political successor...

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