Mayawati declares nephew 'successor' again, revokes earlier decision

Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president on Sunday declared nephew Akash Anand her successor and made him the party's national coordinator, reversing her own previous decision.

In the middle of the Lok Sabha elections on May 7, she had termed Akash Anand immature and relieved him of the party post.

After a national level meeting at the BSP state office here on Sunday, the party in a statement said it was handing Akash Anand his former responsibilities back.

"BSP's national president Mayawati has once again given Akash Anand a chance to work in the party with full maturity. He will continue to hold all his posts in the party as before.

"That is, he will remain Mayawati's only successor along with being the party's national coordinator," the statement read.

Mayawati, a former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, said she is hopeful her nephew will emerge as a "mature" leader.

"I am hopeful about him (Akash Anand) that now he will definitely emerge as a fully mature leader at every level in the interest of his party and movement. The people of the party will also now encourage him by giving him more respect and honour than before. So that now he can live up to all my expectations in the future," she said in a statement.

The BSP chief had announced Akash Anand as her "successor" in December last year. She revoked her decision after the third phase of Lok Sabha elections.

The former chief minister had then said that she had taken the decision in the interest of the party and the movement till Anand attained "full maturity".

Akash Anand was booked in a case of violation of the Model Code of Conduct for allegedly using "objectionable" language in an election rally in Sitapur.

The BSP, which contested the Lok Sabha elections on its own, did not win a single seat out of 80 seats in UP this time, while emerging Dalit leader and Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief Chandrashekhar Azad won the Nagina (reserved) seat in Bijnor district.

The BSP had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the Samajwadi Party and won 10 seats in the state.