Akash Anand seeks re-entry into BSP, Mayawati agrees to 'give him a chance'

Akash Anand, who was expelled by BSP chief Mayawati for 'anti-party activities' last month, on Sunday urged his aunt to take him back into the party. Calling Mayawati her "sole political guru", Anand appealed to Mayawati to apologise for his mistakes and give him a chance to work in the party again.

In response, Mayawati agreed to give her nephew another chance, but said she would not appoint anyone as her successor as she is in good health. She said she would continue to lead the party.

"Today, I take this vow that for the benefit of BSP, I will not let my relations and especially my in-laws become an obstacle," Akash Anand wrote on X.

Anand, who was once declared Mayawati's political heir, was stripped of all his positions last month after she felt that Anand's father-in-law Ashok Siddharth had been wielding influence in the BSP. Siddharth was earlier expelled from the party.

However, Anand made it clear that he would not take any advice from any relative or advisor for any of his political decisions. "I will only follow the guidelines given by Mayawati ji. I will respect my elders



and seniors in the party and will learn a lot from their experiences," he said.

"I appeal to Mayawati ji to forgive all my mistakes and give me a chance to work in the party again. For this, I will always be grateful to her. Also, I will not make any such mistake in the future, which will hurt the self-respect and self-esteem of the party and Mayawati ji," he said.

In response, Mayawati said the decision to give another chance to Anand was an example of dedicating his life to the BSP. "The decision to give another chance to Akash Anand in view of his publicly admitting his mistakes in his four posts today on X and giving full respect to the seniors and not giving in to his father-in-law's words means he is dedicating his life to the BSP party and movement," he said.

Mayawati appointed Akash Anand as the party's national coordinator in June 2019, and he was named her political successor in 2023.

On May 7 last year, Mayawati sacked Anand, saying he needed to reach "maturity" before assuming the role of the party's national coordinator. However, he was reinstated to his post after a month.