Mayawati, Her Nephews and the Curious Case of BSP’s ‘No Dynasty Politics’
Mayawati appoints nephew Ishan Anand as BSP national coordinator amid Akash Anand’s removal and Ashok Siddharth’s exit from active politics.
By Pranjal Gupta
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is seeing a crucial reshuffle at a time when the party is struggling to maintain its Parliament presence, with its lone MP in Rajya Sabha, Ramji Gautam, set to retire this November upon term expiry. On Wednesday, party president Mayawati appointed her younger nephew, Ishan Anand, as the BSP’s new national coordinator, a position previously held by his elder brother, Akash Anand.
At the ceremony, Ishan’s father and BSP national vice-president Anand Kumar accompanied him on the stage, while his brother Akash remained absent. Mayawati, who presided over the event, announced the new face of her political outfit.
Once considered Mayawati’s political heir, Akash was relieved of all party responsibilities earlier this month. According to the party president, Akash was “completely entangled in the web of his father-in-law Shri Ashok Siddharth, and bringing him back into the party would be a grave betrayal of the party, which I can never allow as it would be an anti-party wrongful act.”
Ashok Siddharth, once a close aide of Mayawati, reportedly fell out with the BSP leadership after the Delhi Assembly elections last year. Though he was the party’s in-charge of the southern states, Siddharth allegedly interfered in the distribution of Delhi election tickets without Mayawati’s approval. This reportedly led to tensions with the leadership and weakened his position within the party.
By that time, his son-in-law Akash was also under the radar of the party leadership. Mayawati publicly stated that Siddharth’s complete political exit was necessary if her nephew, and Siddharth’s son-in-law, Akash Anand, were to regain organisational responsibilities.
In response, Ashok Siddharth announced his immediate retirement from political and social life on September 10, 2026. He had served as the party’s national secretary and handled various key responsibilities.
‘No Dynasty Politics’
At Wednesday’s meeting, four-time Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati reiterated the BSP’s commitment to avoiding “dynastic politics”. In fact, during the entire Akash-Ashok episode, Mayawati recalled the ideals of BSP founder Kanshi Ram, who formed the party in 1984 to give political heft to Dalits.
The party made its parliamentary debut in 1989, a few years after it was formed, and won three seats in Uttar Pradesh and one in Punjab. At its peak, the party also gained ground in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, advocating the ideals of Kanshi Ram as well as those of B R Ambedkar.
BSP’s Shrinking Representation
Ramji Gautam's 6-year tenure in the Rajya Sabha will complete on November 25, 2026. The Election Commission has scheduled the Rajya Sabha election for October 16, 2026, to fill the 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh that are expiring.
Because the BSP currently has 0 seats in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly (following the death of MLA Uma Shankar Singh in August 2026), the party lacks the numerical support required to re-elect Gautam or nominate a new member
