Opinion | Akash Out, BSP Down: Mayawati’s Control Spells Uncertain Days
The BSP’s shrinking relevance, coupled with Mayawati’s refusal to cede control or innovate, paints a grim picture
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), once a formidable force in Indian politics, is teetering on the edge of irrelevance, and its latest internal upheaval only deepens the crisis. On March 3, 2025, BSP supremo Mayawati expelled her nephew, Akash Anand, from the party, a day after stripping him of all responsibilities, including his role as national coordinator.
This dramatic move, cloaked in accusations of Akash’s “selfishness" and undue influence from his father-in-law, Ashok Siddharth, underscores Mayawati’s unrelenting grip on the party. Yet, it also raises a troubling question: is her iron-fisted control hastening the BSP’s descent into obscurity?
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Akash, once heralded as Mayawati’s political heir, was meant to rejuvenate the BSP, bridging its ageing leadership with a younger, aspirational Dalit electorate. His expulsion marks the end of that promise, leaving the party without a succession plan—by Mayawati’s own decree, there will be no heir as long as she lives. This decision, while reinforcing her authority, exposes a deeper malaise.
The BSP, which rose on the strength of Dalit empowerment under Kanshi Ram, has struggled to adapt to shifting political tides. Its vote share has dwindled, its cadre is disillusioned, and its once-unassailable hold over Uttar Pradesh’s Dalit vote is slipping to rivals like Chandrashekhar Azad.
Mayawati’s justification for Akash’s ouster—his alleged political immaturity and external sway—feels flimsy against the backdrop of her own history of sidelining dissent. The expulsion of Siddharth last month and now Akash suggests a pattern of purging perceived threats, even from within her family. But at what cost?
The BSP’s shrinking relevance, coupled with Mayawati’s refusal to cede control or innovate, paints a grim picture. As Akash exits, the party’s future hangs in limbo, tethered to a leader whose dominance may be its undoing. Uncertain days loom large for the BSP.
A FAMILY FEUD SIGNALS DEEPER CRACKS
Mayawati’s expulsion of her nephew Akash Anand from the Bahujan Samaj Party is more than a messy family feud—it’s a glaring symptom of a party in freefall. Just a day after stripping Akash of all responsibilities, including his role as national coordinator, Mayawati delivered the final blow, accusing him of “selfish and arrogant" behaviour and blaming his ousted father-in-law, Ashok Siddharth, for undue influence. She cloaked the decision in lofty ideals, claiming it protects the BSP’s Ambedkarite ethos and the discipline instilled by founder Kanshi Ram. However, a closer examination reveals the hollowness of her rhetoric.
This isn’t just a personal spat; it’s a neon sign flashing the BSP’s deeper cracks. The party, once a Dalit juggernaut, is haemorrhaging relevance. The 2024 Lok Sabha elections yielded zero seats, while the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls scraped a single win—dismal returns for a movement that once shook India’s political landscape. Akash, young and dynamic, was Mayawati’s gambit to rekindle that fire, a bridge to a new generation. His unceremonious exit shatters that hope, leaving a void she refuses to fill.
Mayawati insists no successor will emerge while she’s alive, but if not family, who can she trust to steer this sinking ship? The BSP’s vote base is splintering—rival leaders like Chandrashekhar Azad are poaching its core—and her purge of dissent, from Siddharth to Akash, smacks of paranoia, not principle.
This family drama lays bare a brutal truth: Mayawati’s obsession with control is strangling the BSP. Without renewal or delegation, the party risks fading into a relic, its mission drowned out by the echoes of her reign. The cracks are widening—can she see them?
‘BEHENJI’S’ IRON GRIP STIFLES RENEWAL
Mayawati’s decision underscores her unrelenting control, a hallmark of her politics since taking BSP’s reins in 2001. By expelling Akash, who was reinstated as national coordinator in June 2024 after a prior sacking, and refusing to name a successor during her lifetime, Mayawati has reaffirmed her commitment to leading the BSP alone.
This rigidity, while ensuring loyalty, stifles the dynamism the BSP desperately needs. Akash, at 30, represented youth and a potential bridge to younger Dalits drifting toward rivals like Chandrashekhar Azad’s Azad Samaj Party. His exit, coupled with the sidelining of other capable leaders, suggests Mayawati prioritises discipline over adaptation, risking BSP’s relevance in a rapidly shifting political landscape.
A VOTE BANK UNDER SIEGE
The crumbling Dalit vote bank, once the BSP’s lifeline, is a key factor in its uncertain future. Mayawati’s move against Akash comes as competitors exploit BSP’s decline. The BJP’s welfare outreach and Azad’s militant Dalit appeal have fragmented her Jatav base, evident in the 2024 Nagina loss where Azad triumphed while the BSP lagged.
Akash’s expulsion could intensify this trend, as his claim that “lakhs of Akash Anands" will continue the Bahujan legacy suggests a potential splinter faction, thereby diminishing the influence of the BSP. Meanwhile, appointing Anand Kumar (her brother) and Ramji Gautam as coordinators signals continuity, not innovation, unlikely to reclaim voters in a state dominated by the BJP and SP.
MAYAWATI’S LEADERSHIP CROSSROADS: REINVENTION OR IRRELEVANCE?
Mayawati’s political brand has long been defined by her iron-fisted control over the Bahujan Samaj Party and her unwavering commitment to Dalit empowerment. However, her decision to expel Akash Anand—just as she had purged past leaders like Swami Prasad Maurya—raises pressing questions about the BSP’s future. While her rigid leadership once helped consolidate the Dalit vote and deliver a historic victory in Uttar Pradesh in 2007, the party has since suffered electoral decline, unable to adapt to changing political dynamics.
At 69, with no clear successor, Mayawati risks leaving behind a party that is organisationally weak and leaderless.
The road ahead is fraught with challenges. The BSP’s traditional Dalit base is increasingly fragmented, with younger voters gravitating towards alternatives like Chandrashekhar Azad’s Azad Samaj Party, while the BJP continues to make inroads through targeted welfare schemes.
Mayawati’s current isolationist strategy—rejecting potential alliances with the Congress or the Samajwadi Party—further limits the BSP’s revival prospects. If she does not recalibrate her approach by fostering young leadership, revising her party’s outreach, and embracing coalition politics, the expulsion of Akash Anand may not just be a family dispute but a signal of BSP’s impending political obsolescence.
The author, a columnist and research scholar, teaches journalism at St. Xavier’s College (autonomous), Kolkata. His handle on X is @sayantan_gh. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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