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Maya continues to go tough on Ashok Siddarth’s aides
BSP president has expelled several leaders since her nephew Akash Anand’s father-in-law was shown the door in February
: Bahujan Samaj Party national president Mayawati continues to go tough on party functionaries still associated with expelled party leader Ashok Siddarth, a former Rajya Sabha member and her nephew Akash Anand’s father-in-law.
The BSP’s Budaun district president RP Tyagi on Wednesday filed an FIR against 10 expelled functionaries and workers, including Rajesh Kumar, who was closely associated with Ashok Siddarth and had been removed as the Dataganj assembly constituency in-charge at the Civil Lines police station of Budaun.
The complaint alleges that these individuals made objectionable comments on social media and threatened to kill him. Rajesh Kumar allegedly launched a campaign against the party and its leaders on social media after being removed from the post.
Those named in the FIR include Kumar and his associates Rahul Jatav, R Jitendra Kumar Gautam, Ramesh Kumar, Amod Bharti, Prabhat Kumar, Arvind Gautam, Harish Gautam and others. The police have registered a case and initiated an investigation into the matter.
Ashok Siddarth had an over three-decade-long association with the BSP and was in charge of the party in various southern states. Since his expulsion, Mayawati has shown the door to several leaders, including coordinators of Mirzapur and Prayagraj divisions, Raju Gautam and Amarendra Bharti. Earlier, she had expelled Ashok Siddarth’s close associate former MP Nitin Singh and ousted Santosh Anand, coordinator of Agra division, before him in October 2024.
“BSP chief Mayawati even removed her nephew Akash Anand from all party posts, citing concerns about his father-in-law Ashok Siddharth’s influence. Mayawati had declared Akash as her successor, but she became increasingly dissatisfied with his performance. She believed that Akash was heavily influenced by Ashok Siddharth, who allegedly ran a parallel system within the party. Her decision suggests that she prioritises party loyalty and discipline over family ties,” a senior party functionary explained. “Mayawati announced Akash’s removal from all party posts on March 2 earlier this year. She had already informed party coordinators about Akash’s removal during a meeting in Delhi on February 17,” the functionary added.
Akash Anand was re-inducted into the party on April 12 and later made chief national coordinator after he publicly apologised to Mayawati on X for his past activities.
“The BSP chief is so annoyed with the former MP that she is keeping a tab on each and every activity within the party and even the party and marriages in families of BSP functionaries,” a senior party leader said, requesting anonymity. “Behenji’ (Mayawati) has been taking strict action against leaders associated with Ashok Siddharth after the party’s poor performance in the Delhi assembly elections in February this year,” he said.
Siddharth was expelled from the party for alleged anti-party activities immediately after the Delhi poll results came on February 8, The party failed to win a single seat in the Delhi assembly elections 2025 and its vote percentage fell to 0.58%, casting doubt on the party’s relevance in the national political landscape.
“Other than former MP Nitin Singh and national coordinators, even veteran leader Gorey Lal Jatav from western UP was expelled, indicating Mayawati’s seriousness about party discipline,” he stated.
“More leaders are likely to face expulsion for their alleged association with Siddharth,” he said.
He said the party functionaries and workers have been instructed to focus solely on organisational expansion and avoid other activities. Mayawati has made it clear that those involved in anti-party activities will not be spared, he stressed.
Notably, the BSP’s poor performance in recent elections has put its national party status at risk.
