Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Myawati on Sunday anointed her nephew Akash Anand as the party's next chief after chairing a party meeting in Lucknow. The meeting was attended by Legislative Party leader Umashankar Singh and State President Vishwanath Pal. Leaders from 28 states were also present in the meeting, according to an ABP News report.
Son of Mayawati's younger brother Anand Kumar, Akash was brought to the political forefront by her aunt at a rally in Saharanpur after the party's defeat in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.
"BSP chief Mayawati has announced Akash Anand (Mayawati's nephew) as her successor," BSP leader Udayveer Singh told news agency ANI on Sunday. "He (Anand) has been given the responsibility to strengthen the party organisation all over the country except Uttar Pradesh," he added.
"The whole 'Bahujan Samaj' is happy," said BSP UP president Vishwanath Pal after the party meeting.
Anand completed his MBA from London and got married to poliitician Ashok Siddharth's daughter, Pragya in June this year.
The young BSP chief is an active social media user whith 2 lakh followers on X, 52 thousand followers on Facebook, and over 37 thousand followers on Instagram.
Anand was tasked with overlooking the party's contest in recently concluded Rajasthan Assembly polls. After the party won 2 seats acquiring a vote share of over 5 per cent, there were talks about elevating his position within the party.
However, the party's official statement did not mention any such decision, reported PTI.
According to Singh, Mayawati announced the decision during the meeting.
"She (Mayawati) said he (Anand) will be her heir after her," Singh said.