Mayawati appoints Ishan Anand as BSP's National Coordinator: Who is he?

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Wednesday appointed Ishan Anand, younger nephew of party president Mayawati, as its new national coordinator, days after his elder brother Akash Anand was removed from all party responsibilities.

The decision was announced at a meeting of the BSP's national executive held at the party headquarters here and presided over by Mayawati, a four-time former Uttar Pradesh chief minister.

Who is Ishan Anand?

Ishan Anand, who has completed his LLM and legal studies, was present at the meeting along with his father and BSP national vice-president Anand Kumar. Akash Anand, who has been relieved of all party responsibilities, was not seen at the meeting.


Ishan, in his address after his appointment, thanked Mayawati for entrusting him with the "big responsibility" of national coordinator and said he would discharge it with "full honesty and dedication".

He also invoked the legacy of B R Ambedkar and BSP founder Kanshi Ram and said he would work on the path shown by Mayawati, according to a BSP statement.

"She has entrusted me with the big responsibility of national coordinator in the Bahujan Samaj Party, which I will try my best to discharge with full honesty and dedication," Ishan said, assuring party workers that he would work to take forward the party's activities and would not disappoint them.

Ishan's appointment comes against the backdrop of a series of changes involving Mayawati's family in the BSP. On September 3, Mayawati removed Akash Anand from the post of chief national coordinator, saying he needed greater maturity and that it would not be appropriate to entrust him with major responsibilities at that stage. She also said Akash was being influenced by his father in law Ashok Siddharth, a former BSP Rajya Sabha MP who was expelled by Mayawati for alleged anti-party activities.

A week later, she said Akash had been set "completely free" from the party.

At a press conference, she also accused her nephew of spreading rumours about her health while asserting that she was perfectly alright.

Ishan and Akash are the sons of Anand Kumar, Mayawati's younger brother and a BSP national vice-president, while their sister is Deepika Anand.

Mayawati had said earlier this month that neither Akash nor Ishan would be given any position in the party, but subsequently announced that Ishan would be given a "respectable role", while Akash and Deepika would remain away from party responsibilities.

Akash Anand, once groomed by BSP chief Mayawati and publicly projected as her political successor, now appears to have been pushed out of the party’s future plans.

Mayawati has ruled out giving Anand any further responsibility in the Bahujan Samaj Party, saying his conduct and activities since his marriage had led her to repeatedly reconsider his role. In her latest statement, she said bringing him back would amount to a “major betrayal” of the party.

“On special request of Shri Anand Kumar, I had to promote his elder son, Shri Akash Anand, in politics. Since his marriage, however, Shri Akash Anand’s conduct and activities at every step have been such that, a few days ago, I once again had to separate him from the party,” Mayawati said in her latest post.

“In other words, he is now completely caught up in the web of his father-in-law, Shri Ashok Siddharth. Bringing him back into the party now would amount to a major betrayal of the party, and I can never commit such an act against the party,” she wrote.

The latest move marks another turn in Anand’s stop-start political career. Mayawati first removed him from key responsibilities in May 2024 and again in March 2025, before bringing him back and elevating him as national coordinator. He was removed from that position on September 3 and was subsequently relieved of his party membership on September 10.

Akash Anand’s on-off journey with BSP

Anand entered politics in 2017 at the age of 22. The son of Mayawati’s brother Anand Kumar, he made his political debut alongside his aunt at a rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur, where he shared the stage with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and RLD leader Ajit Singh.

In April 2019, Anand addressed his first public rally in Uttar Pradesh, in Agra. At the time, the BSP was part of the opposition Mahagathbandhan with the Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Mayawati appointed Anand as the BSP’s national coordinator in June 2019, marking a significant step in his rise within the party.

His political trajectory, however, has been marked by repeated promotions followed by setbacks.

In December 2023, Mayawati formally named Anand as her political successor, but his elevation was followed by a series of reversals. In May 2024, she removed him from his party responsibilities. He was reinstated less than a month later. In March 2025, she again removed him from key responsibilities, before subsequently bringing him back into the organisation.

The latest break appears more definitive. Mayawati first removed Anand as national coordinator in September, then completely freed him from the party days later after a dispute involving his father-in-law Ashok Siddharth.

Siddharth, a former BSP Rajya Sabha MP and senior party functionary, was expelled from the BSP in August. Mayawati later indicated that his retirement from politics could create an opportunity for Anand to return. Siddharth subsequently announced his political retirement, but Mayawati still decided to remove Anand from the party.

The BSP chief has since turned to Anand’s younger brother, Ishan Anand, giving him organisational responsibilities. On September 20, Mayawati said Akash Anand and his sister Deepika would remain outside party responsibilities, while Ishan would be given a role in the organisation.

That decision has added another layer to the BSP’s evolving leadership and succession picture ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.