BSP chief Mayawati
Mayawati Shifts Focus from Nepotism to Merit in Party Leadership
Mayawati has recently expressed her discontent with her nephews and niece, signaling a shift in her party’s leadership approach. She announced plans to appoint a dedicated Dalit worker to a prominent position based on consensus, explicitly rejecting nepotism.
This change comes after speculation about dynastic politics began in December 2023, when Mayawati named her nephew Akash as her political successor. However, on September 12, she clarified that Akash, along with Ishan and Deepika, would not be given any official roles. She also abolished the chief central coordinator position, further dispelling notions that leadership roles were designed around her family members.
The latest developments follow a series of organisational reshuffles since the party’s all-India meeting on Sept 3. He was most recently expelled on Sept 12 and has not been taken back so far.
Lucknow: BSP chief Mayawati ’s shifting stance on the future roles of her niece and nephews has reignited an internal debate over “ownership” and control within the party, sharpening the contrast between long-time cadre and the family of her brother, Anand Kumar . He was subsequently removed from the party on Sept 10, with Mayawati describing him as “undeserving and immature” for a national-level post. Anand Kumar, a BSP national vice president, has three children—Akash, Ishan and Deepika Anand—whose rise and fall in the party’s top structure has become the focal point of the current churn. At that meeting, Mayawati demoted Akash Anand—then a national convener—to the rank of an ordinary party worker. The ongoing family feud is widely seen as connected to a broader power tussle, but party observers say Mayawati’s limited options are tied to the absence of a strong second rung of leaders cultivated over the years. Posts such as chief national coordinator and chief convener were created during those phases, specifically to place him at the apex of the structure.
Akash has been expelled from the party three times and reinstated twice, receiving major promotions after earlier returns.