Mayawati, the chief of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), declared her nephew Akash Anand as her "uttaradhakari (heir)," as confirmed by Udayveer Singh, the BSP's Shahjahanpur district unit chief.
According to Singh, "Akash (Anand) has been declared the 'uttaradhakari (heir)' by Mayawatiji." He further mentioned that Anand has been entrusted with strengthening the party organization nationwide, excluding Uttar Pradesh.
While Singh made these statements to reporters, the official statement from the party did not explicitly mention such a decision.
Singh revealed that Mayawati announced during a meeting in the district, attended by party leaders from across the country. He quoted Mayawati, saying, "Unhone (Mayawati) said he (Anand) will be her heir after her."
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"She (Mayawati) said he (Anand) will be her political heir after her," he added.
Confirming the development, BSP MLC Bhim Rao Ambedkar said, "We have got a youth leader in Akash Anand. In states where the party organisation is weak, Anand will be strengthening it."
He added that the BSP's mission movement will continue.
Asked about Anand becoming Mayawati's successor, the BSP's state unit chief Vishwanath Pal said, "Pura Bahujan Samaj khush hai (The entire Bahujan community is happy)."
Anand is the party's national coordinator at present.
According to the party statement, Mayawati called upon the 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 (Our vote, your rule)".
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Mayawati gave detailed guidelines to senior office-bearers of various states regarding preparations for the general elections.
"As an Ambedkarite party, the BSP's effort is to develop the political power of the Bahujan Samaj by connecting various sections of the Bahujan community on the basis of mutual brotherhood… The objective (is) to acquire the master key of power," she said.
She called upon the party workers to strengthen the organization with "double effort" 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.
Speaking on the recent assembly elections in four states, Mayawati said that despite multi-cornered contests, the result being completely one-sided is an issue that is a matter for discussion.
"Whether the next Lok Sabha elections will also be held on similar pseudo-slogans and election campaign," she wondered and asked if the people suffering from poverty, inflation, and unemployment will keep watching everything helplessly or will some democratic solution be found.
The efforts of opposition parties to remain in election discussions and media headlines in any manner are not appropriate to ensure free and fair elections, the BSP chief said.
"The result of this is that despite an anti-government wave, the election results are not according to people's expectations," she added.
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Efforts will be made in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls to influence the electoral atmosphere by giving it a casteist and communal tone to divert people's attention from inflation, poverty, unemployment, and backwardness, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
"The question is that if the public remains ignorant even after understanding their problems, will the fate of their families be able to change?" she asked.
Reiterating her decision not to join any electoral alliance, Mayawati noted her "bitter" prior experience and said siding with any bloc will be bad for the Bahujan movement.
