Mayawati expels nephew Akash Anand from BSP

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Monday expelled her nephew Akash Anand from the party, citing his involvement in anti-party activities. This comes a day after he was removed from all key BSP posts.Akash Anand, like his father-in-law, is expelled from the party in the interest of the party and the movement," Mayawati said in an X post written in Hindi.Mayawati had earlier expelled Akash Anand's father-in-law Ashok Siddharth, accusing him of causing division within the party by creating factions that weakened the BSP's organisational strength. She cited recent instances, including events surrounding his son's wedding, as examples of his attempts to undermine the party. This, she said, was unacceptable and had led to his expulsion.
"He (Akash Anand) should have repented for this and shown his maturity. But on the contrary, the long response given by Shri Akash is not of his remorse and political maturity but is mostly selfish, arrogant and non-missionary under the influence of his father-in-law," Mayawati said in a series of three posts on X."Therefore, in the interest of the self-respect and self-esteem movement of the most revered Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar and following the tradition of discipline of the venerable Shri Kanshiram ji, Shri Akash Anand is expelled from the party, like his father-in-law, in the interest of the party and the movement," she said.
Mayawati had expelled Ashok Siddharth over the weekend, accusing him of splitting the party down the middle. In a statement, she said he has "Done this heinous act of weakening the party by dividing it into two factions in the entire country, including Uttar Pradesh, which is absolutely intolerable." Akash Anand, Mayawati's nephew who was once showcased as her political heir, was removed from all party posts a day before.
Akash Anand on Monday said he respects every decision of party chief Mayawati. He also said the decision had an emotional impact on him but asserted that he has taken it as a challenge and has a long battle ahead of him.In a social media post on X, Anand said, "Some people from the opposition party are thinking that my political career is over because of this decision of the party. They should understand that the Bahujan Movement is not a career but a fight for self-respect and self-esteem of crores of Dalits, exploited, deprived and poor people."