BSP chief Mayawati on Sunday declared her nephew Akash Anand as her uttaradikari (heir). Udayveer Singh, the BSP’s Shahjahanpur district unit chief, said Akash Anand has been declared the uttaradhikari by Mayawatiji. He said Anand has been given the responsibility to strengthen the party organization all over India except Uttar Pradesh.

The party’s official statement did not include any such decision. Singh said Mayawati announced the decision during a meeting in the district that was attended by party leaders from all over India. Mayawati said Anand will be her heir.

Confirming the development, BSP MLC Bhim Rao Ambedkar said the party has got a youth leader in Akash Anand. He said in states where the party is weak, Anand will be strengthening it. He added BSP’s mission will continue. Asked about Anand becoming Mayawati’s successor, the BSP’s state unit chief Vishwanath Pal said Pura Bahujan Samaj Khush hai. Anand is the party’s national coordinator at present.

According to the party’s official statement, Mayawati called upon party workers to increase the BSP’s support base for the Lok Sabha elections to liberate the poor, backward and deprived sections from the exploitative system of vote hamara, raj tumhara.

Mayawati gave detailed guidelines to senior office bearers of various states regarding preparations for the general elections. She said as an Ambedkarite party, the BSP’s effort is to develop the political power of Bahujan Samaj by connecting various sections of the Bahujan community on the basis of mutual brotherhood. She said the objective is to acquire the master key of power.

She called upon the party workers to strengthen the organization with doubled efforts to properly face opposition parties, which mostly survive in politics through money power, attractive promises and deceitful claims instead of policy and principles for the public and national interest.

Vishnu Deo Sai, the former Chhattisgarh BJP president, will be the new chief minister of the state. The BJP had been in a huddle over the chief ministerial name since it scored a comfortable victory in Chhattisgarh, refuting election polls that predicted a tough fight with the Congress. Sai’s name was being counted among the frontrunners, along with former chief minister Raman Singh.

Sai had been the state president of the BJP between 2020 and 2022.He was the union minister of state for steel in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first term. He was also the Lok Sabha member from the BJP representing Chhattisgarh’s Raipur constituency. He is a member of BJP’s national working committee.

After the formation of the Congress government in 2018, when the BJP restructured its organization, Vishnu Deo Sai was appointed as the state president of BJP. In 2022, Arun Sao replaced Sai as the party’s state unit chief. Vishnu Deo Sai has been unanimously chosen as the leader of the legislative assembly. BJP Leader OP Chaudhary said the BJP will take the state forward under his leadership. He said they will fulfill the responsibilities decided by the party. He said the BJP will give their 100% under the leadership of Vishnu Deo Sai.

Sai began his political career as a panchayat leader. He later remained a member of the Madhya Pradesh assembly between 1990 and 98. In 1999, he was elected to the 13^th Lok Sabha. He was later re-elected to the subsequent Lok Sabhas from Raipur. With his appointment as the chief Minister, the BJP eyes the sizable tribal votes in the state for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In the Chhattisgarh assembly elections, Sai won from the Kunkuri Tribal seat with a margin of over 25000 votes. The BJP won 54 seats in Chhattisgarh, the Congress trailed behind with only 35 seats.   

Lok Sabha MP Danish Ali was suspended by Mayawati-led BSP on Saturday for allegedly indulging in anti party activities. He termed his suspension unfortunate and said he would continue to raise his voice against injustice and corruption.

Danish Ali took to X(formerly Twitter) after his suspension, Ali said he made all diligent efforts to strengthen the BSP and would continue to oppose the anti people policies of the central government. He thanked the part chief Mayawati, for making him the BSP Parliamentary party leader. Ali said if raising his voice against injustice was a crime, he was ready to face punishment.

Talking to the media in a press conference, Ali denied indulging in anti party activities and said he always walked the BSP’s line. On Friday Ali sided with the opposition and slammed the expulsion of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra as a Lok Sabha MP. He slammed the BJP led central government, saying its brute majority in the Lower House did not mean it could throttle the opposition.

The BSP is not a member of the rulling BJP-led NDA or the Opposition INDIA bloc. The BSP on Saturday suspended its MP Danish Ali for allegedly indulging in anti party activities. Ali has been representing the Amroha Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh since 2019.

In a statement issued by the BSP national general secretary Satish Chandra Misra, Ali had been warned by the party many times in the past not to indulge in anti party activities. The BSP said Ali had been working with HD Deve Gowda of the Janata Dal (secular) party. At that time, both the BSP and JD(S) were contesting together in the Karnataka state election. After the Karnataka election Ali was given a ticket from Amroha and asked to contest from there due to Devegowda’s insistence. Deve Gowda had said the party had decided to suspend Ali with immediate effect.