Dehradun: Akash Anand, the nephew of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, has made it to the list of star campaigners of the party for by-elections to be held on two assembly seats of Uttarakhand on July 10.
The development is significant as it marks Anand's comeback since Mayawati had removed him from the post of the party’s National Coordinator and also as her successor during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The BSP on Friday released the list of 13 star-campaigners for the by-elections on two assembly seats of Uttarakhand, with Anand's name figuring at the second place after Mayawati.
Anand will be seen campaigning in the by-election to be held for Manglaur seat of Haridwar district. Apart from him, Mayawati and other party leaders will also participate in the campaign.
The Manglaur seat was lying vacant after the death of sitting BSP MLA Sarwat Karim Ansari on October 30 last year. This time, the BSP has given a ticket to Ansari's son Ubedur Rahman.
Along with the Manglaur assembly seat, voting will also be held on July 10 on the Badrinath seat in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. During the Lok Sabha election campaign, Mayawati had suddenly relieved Akash Anand from all posts, months after she had declared him as her successor.
In her post on X (formerly Twitter) on May 7, Mayawati had written, "It is known that the BSP, apart from being a party, is also a movement for self-respect and self-esteem of Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar and social change for which Honourable Shri Kanshi Ram Ji and I have dedicated our entire lives and a new generation is also being prepared to give it momentum."
"In this direction, along with promoting other people in the party, I had declared Shri Akash Anand as the national coordinator and my successor, but in the larger interest of the party and the movement, he is being divested of both these important responsibilities until he attains full maturity," she added.
The move came days after Anand was booked for allegedly making “objectionable” remarks during a public address in Sitapur on April 28, where he had criticised BJP in his speech.
