Bahujan community has high expectations from Akash Anand: Mayawati

Lucknow, Oct 18 (PTI) BSP chief Mayawati on Sunday said Akash Anand has been displaying maturity and prioritising the party over family following his father-in-law Ashok Siddharth’s retirement from politics as she announced a series of programmes to be addressed by her nephew across Uttar Pradesh and other states.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister also said there was no question of taking Siddharth back into the party.

In a post on X, Mayawati said Anand, who was recently reappointed as the BSP’s national coordinator, had been displaying maturity and prioritising the party and the movement over family and personal relationships following Siddharth’s retirement from politics.

Former Rajya Sabha MP Siddharth retired from politics in September.

Mayawati said people from the Bahujan community have high expectations from Anand and he has been working hard to fulfil his responsibilities.

According to Mayawati, Anand will address BSP public meetings in Bulandshahr on October 28, Saharanpur on November 2, Ayodhya on November 20, Agra on November 22 and Kanpur Nagar on November 29.

He will also attend a seminar organised by the BSP in Punjab on Constitution Day on November 26.

On December 6, the death anniversary of B R Ambedkar, Anand will address a seminar or public meeting in Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, she said.

Mayawati said Anand’s renewed involvement in party activities showed that Siddharth was more responsible for the “unpleasant developments” of the past than her nephew.

She said Siddharth had been expelled from the party and advised to retire from politics.

The BSP chief also cautioned party workers against rumours and attempts by “selfish elements” to mislead them. She urged them to work wholeheartedly to ensure the success of all programmes assigned to Anand.

“There is not an iota of truth in the rumours that Ashok Siddharth, like Akash Anand, will be taken back into the party,” Mayawati said, making it clear that Siddharth would not be readmitted under any circumstances.

In another announcement, Mayawati said Akash Anand’s brother Ishan Anand has completed his law studies in London and would assist the BSP at its central office in Delhi as an active worker under her guidance.

He would primarily help with election-related work and other paperwork, she said.