Lucknow, September 23, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Wednesday appointed her nephew Ishan Anand to a key national organisational position as the party intensified preparations for upcoming Assembly elections, including in Uttar Pradesh. Recent organisational decisions involving members of Mayawati’s family have also prompted debate over the role of relatives in the BSP.
The decision was announced at a national-level party meeting in Lucknow, where Mayawati directed workers to step up preparations and work towards electoral victories in the states going to the polls. Current reports identify Anand’s new position as national coordinator.
Mayawati said the BSP should remain focused on its objective of forming a government in Uttar Pradesh with an absolute majority, irrespective of whether future contests become two-way, three-way or four-way battles.
She directed the organisation to prepare for an independent electoral contest in Uttar Pradesh, identify strong candidates and strengthen the party structure down to the booth level. She said the BSP faced challenges from all opposition parties in its pursuit of political power through the principles of self-respect and self-esteem associated with B.R. Ambedkar.
Addressing questions surrounding family members in the organisation, Mayawati said the BSP had historically opposed nepotism. Referring to founder Kanshi Ram, she said he considered the entire Bahujan Samaj his family. She added that relatives could work for the organisation, but party responsibilities should not be determined by family interests.
The latest decision follows several changes involving her nephews Akash Anand and Ishan Anand. Mayawati had earlier removed Akash from party responsibilities and subsequently expelled him from the BSP. She had also withdrawn Ishan Anand’s earlier organisational assignment before announcing that he would be given a new, “respectable” responsibility.
Ishan Anand, who has a legal education, thanked Mayawati for the responsibility and said he would work with honesty and dedication to strengthen the BSP and advance the Bahujan movement. He paid tribute to B.R. Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram and said completing their unfinished work of making the Bahujan Samaj self-reliant would remain his priority.
Mayawati also criticised the BJP-led government over issues including poverty, unemployment, backwardness, migration and corruption. She raised concerns over GST, UPI and the distribution of the benefits of economic growth, arguing that development should translate into greater welfare for poorer sections.
She also referred to cases involving suicides of Dalit students in higher educational institutions while questioning the persistence of social and institutional discrimination.
Mayawati said the constitutional right to vote remained the Bahujan Samaj’s principal political strength and could enable Dalits, tribals, backward classes, Muslims and other marginalised sections to influence the country’s future.
She linked the BSP’s political objectives to the need for a stronger India and said the party’s experience in Uttar Pradesh demonstrated the importance of political representation for marginalised communities.
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