New Delhi, September 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Samajwadi Party has criticised Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati following the decision of expelled BSP leader and former Rajya Sabha member Ashok Siddharth to retire from active politics, accusing the BSP president of prioritising her own political interests over the wider Bahujan Samaj.
Siddharth announced his retirement a day after Mayawati said that his withdrawal from politics was necessary if her nephew and Siddharth’s son-in-law, Akash Anand, was to be given another opportunity to rise within the BSP.
Mayawati subsequently expelled Akash Anand from the party, stating that he had been freed from the BSP and that his personal attachment appeared to have taken precedence over his political career.
Reacting to the developments, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Ashutosh Verma said the situation showed how far the BSP had moved from the vision associated with B.R. Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram.
Verma said the Bahujan Samaj Party had once realised Ambedkar’s political vision by forming a government in Uttar Pradesh four times, including once with a full majority, but alleged that the larger objective remained unfulfilled.
“This is not what the Bahujan Samaj Party used to be. I feel that the Dalit community and the Bahujan Samaj have now understood that Behen Kumari Mayawati does politics only for herself and no longer speaks for society,” Verma said.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Minister and Nishad Party chief Sanjay Nishad, who had earlier invited Akash Anand to join his party, again urged him to remain active in politics and work for marginalised sections of society.
“He should make a decision because a person committed to a mission never retires,” Nishad told IANS, urging Anand to fight for the rights and entitlements of neglected and weaker sections and work towards bringing them into the mainstream of development.
Nishad also repeated the same view while commenting on Ashok Siddharth’s retirement, saying that someone committed to a social mission should not retire from the struggle.
Uttar Pradesh Minister Rakesh Sachan, however, declined to comment on the developments, saying that decisions regarding expulsions and inductions were matters for the BSP leadership.
“She is the national president. This is her decision,” Sachan said.
The developments come amid renewed political attention on the BSP’s internal leadership and the future role of Akash Anand, following his expulsion from the party and Siddharth’s decision to withdraw from politics.
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