BSP supremo Mayawati is angry with her nephew Akash Anand again. She has shown him the door from the party. In a post on X, she wrote,
Akash was more attached to his father-in-law. Since September 3, he had not even reposted my posts. If he wants to remain independent in the party, he is free to do so. Therefore, from today, he has been freed from the party.
Just three hours earlier, Akash’s father-in-law Ashok Siddharth had retired from politics for his son-in-law. He had expressed his support for Akash despite Mayawati’s decision. However, Mayawati did not accept his appeal and expelled her nephew Akash from the party.
In fact, on Wednesday, Mayawati had set a condition for her nephew Akash’s return to the BSP. At 2.46 pm, she wrote on X,
If former MP Ashok Siddharth wants what is best for his son-in-law Akash, he should retire from politics. Only then will Akash get a free hand. Akash is paying the price for his father-in-law’s selfish behaviour.
Seventeen hours after Mayawati’s statement, Ashok Siddharth wrote an emotional post. Calling Mayawati his political guru, he announced that he was quitting politics for his son-in-law. It is now being believed that Mayawati may soon restore Akash to his old responsibilities in the party.
Mayawati had removed Akash from his post seven days ago. She had said, ‘Akash needs to become more politically mature.’
Expelled from party on August 2, Mayawati had said he failed to improve despite repeated warnings
- Mayawati expelled Ashok Siddharth from the party on August 2 this year. She said he had failed to improve despite repeated warnings and that she would never take him back into the party. This was the second time in one-and-a-half years that Mayawati had expelled Ashok from the party.
- In 2025, Ashok Siddharth and his close aide Nitin Singh were expelled from the party over allegations of factionalism within the organisation. At the time, Mayawati said Ashok and Nitin were conspiring against the party. However, Ashok Siddharth returned to the party six months later. In February 2026, he was given the number one position among the party’s national office-bearers.
What condition did Mayawati set for Akash’s return?
- Yesterday, September 9, Mayawati said, ‘People who have gone astray in the party are being given a chance to reform, but action is also being taken against those who become an obstacle. Ashok Siddharth gave more importance to his personal and family ambitions than the party’s mission. Akash Anand has directly paid the price for this.’
- Ashok Siddharth still has a chance to retire from politics completely. Only then will Akash Anand be able to work independently, and only then will the party consider sympathetically restoring his previous responsibilities.
Who is Ashok Siddharth?
- Ashok Siddharth originally worked in the medical field. He completed his postgraduate studies from Bundelkhand University and obtained a diploma in paramedical ophthalmic assistance from Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi.
- He got a government job in the Uttar Pradesh Health Department. He was posted in Kannauj, which was then part of Farrukhabad district. There, he worked on eye examinations and refraction-related tasks.
- While in government service, he joined BAMCEF and became active in the organisation’s work. He later came closer to the BSP and Mayawati.
- According to media reports, at Mayawati’s request, he left his government job and began working full-time for the BSP. His political stature in the party then rose rapidly.
- In 2009, Mayawati sent him to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council (MLC). He remained a member of the Legislative Council from January 2009 to January 2015. He then entered the Rajya Sabha in July 2016 and remained an MP until July 2022. He held several organisational responsibilities in the party and was also made in-charge of different states.
- His wife, Sunita Siddharth, also served as vice-chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh State Women’s Commission during the BSP government. She held the post from 2007 to 2012.
- His daughter, Dr Pragya Siddharth, married Mayawati’s nephew Akash Anand in March 2023. Following the marriage, Ashok Siddharth’s political relationship with the Mayawati family also became a family relationship.
