Lucknow: Amid a series of recent organisational changes involving her family members, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Wednesday appointed her nephew Ishan Anand as the party’s national convener as she directed acceleration of its electoral preparations.
At the party’s national meeting here, the BSP chief also directed party workers to put in all their efforts to ensure electoral victory in forthcoming elections in various states, including Uttar Pradesh.
Mayawati stated that whether the upcoming elections turn into a direct contest, a three-way contest or a four-way contest, the BSP must remain focused on its goal of forming a government for the fifth time in Uttar Pradesh and returning to power with an absolute majority.
She directed the party to prepare to contest the elections independently in Uttar Pradesh, select strong candidates, and activate the organisation down to the booth level. Mayawati said the BSP faces challenges from all opposition parties in its efforts to achieve the “master key” to political power through Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar’s policy of self-respect and self-esteem.
She urged party workers to rise above personal attachments, relationships and individual interests and focus solely on the objective of forming a government.
On the issue of nepotism, Mayawati stated that the BSP has always stood apart from it. She cited party founder Kanshi Ram’s principle that the entire Bahujan Samaj was his family.
Mayawati said relatives could work in the organisation without any greed or personal ambition, but responsibilities in the party should not be assigned on the basis of family interests. Her remarks come against the backdrop of recent changes involving her nephews Akash Anand and Ishan Anand. Ishan Anand had earlier been given an organisational responsibility before being removed from it, after which Mayawati announced that he would again be given a “respectable” role.
The BSP chief also targeted the BJP government, citing feedback received during the meeting. She said people in Uttar Pradesh and across the country were suffering from poverty, unemployment, backwardness, migration and corruption, while hopes of “good days” among ordinary people were turning into despair.
She alleged that the BJP’s narrow, feudal, and casteist approach, along with disputes concerning religious beliefs and a sense of neglect and insecurity among the Brahmin community, had weakened the party’s support base.
Mayawati stated that the Bahujan Samaj’s greatest strength was the right to vote guaranteed by the Constitution. According to her, this political power could enable Dalits, tribals, backward classes, Muslims and other marginalised groups to change their destiny and influence the country’s future. She claimed that the experience of BSP governments in Uttar Pradesh demonstrated the importance of this political power.
She also raised issues concerning GST, the UPI payment system and economic development. Mayawati said the benefits of GDP growth were not reaching the poor in sufficient measure and argued that there was a need to think about a “powerful India” rather than merely a “developed India”.
Citing cases involving the suicides of Dalit students in higher educational institutions, she also questioned the existence of social and institutional discrimination.
The most significant organisational decision of the meeting was the appointment of Ishan Anand as national convener. Anand, a law graduate, expressed gratitude to Mayawati for assigning him the new responsibility and said he would work with complete honesty and dedication to strengthen the party and advance the Bahujan movement.
Ishan Anand said he would work to advance the party’s organisational activities by following Mayawati’s instructions and political path. Paying homage to Dr B.R. Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram, he said carrying forward their unfinished work of making the Bahujan Samaj self-reliant would remain his priority.
The decision to assign Ishan Anand the responsibility comes at a time when the BSP has undergone several organisational changes in recent weeks. Mayawati had earlier relieved Akash Anand of party responsibilities and subsequently removed him from the party. She had also indicated that Ishan Anand would be given a new responsibility in the organisation.
(IANS)
