Ashok Siddharth Quits Politics After Mayawati’s Demand: Is Akash Anand Set to Return to BSP?

By AMIT KUMAR

Former BSP Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Siddharth announces his retirement from political and social life but says his exit should not be linked automatically to Akash Anand’s return to active party responsibilities.

Lucknow, September 10, 2026 — Former BSP Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Siddharth has announced his decision to retire from political and social life, responding directly to party chief Mayawati’s demand that he give up politics to create conditions for her nephew and Siddharth’s son-in-law, Akash Anand, to potentially return to active responsibilities in the Bahujan Samaj Party.

In an emotional letter addressed to Mayawati as “Behen Ji”, Siddharth said he was ready to leave political and social life immediately if she believed his continued presence was harming the Bahujan movement.

“If today you feel that my remaining in political and social life is harming the Bahujan mission created by our saints, gurus and great personalities, then I am retiring from political and social life right now,” Siddharth said.

His announcement comes a day after Mayawati publicly argued that Siddharth still had an opportunity to abandon his political ambitions and completely retire from politics. She said that such a step could enable Akash Anand to work freely in the BSP and allow the party to consider restoring his responsibilities.

Siddharth accepts retirement — but rejects the Akash Anand link

While agreeing to Mayawati’s demand, Siddharth has drawn an important distinction: he does not accept that his retirement should be treated as the reason for, or condition automatically guaranteeing, Akash Anand’s return.

Siddharth specifically appealed to Mayawati not to connect his retirement with Anand’s political future.

He reminded Mayawati that Akash Anand was her nephew before becoming his son-in-law and had spent around two decades under her guidance.

“His good and bad, you understand better than anyone else. Whether to give him responsibility again or not is your decision,” Siddharth said.

The statement therefore amounts to both a surrender and a political clarification. Siddharth is willing to sacrifice his own political career, but wants Mayawati to independently decide Anand’s future.

Mayawati had put the issue in stark terms

Mayawati’s earlier statement had directly identified Siddharth as an example of disciplinary action within the BSP.

She alleged that the party had given him several opportunities to correct himself but accused him of giving greater importance to personal and family interests than to the BSP movement.

Mayawati further claimed that the consequences had affected both Siddharth and Akash Anand.

Most significantly, she said Siddharth’s complete retirement from politics could make it possible for Anand to work freely within the BSP, after which the party could “sympathetically consider” restoring his responsibilities.

That formulation made Siddharth’s political future directly relevant to the question of Anand’s return.

A dramatic display of loyalty

Siddharth’s response is remarkable for its unusually deferential language.

He described Mayawati as his political guru and elder sister and credited her with enabling him to become a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council and the Rajya Sabha.

He said he had remained committed to the BSP, Kanshi Ram and B.R. Ambedkar’s mission for 35 years.

Siddharth also invoked Gautama Buddha and Kanshi Ram while declaring that he had never acted against the party’s interests or even imagined acting against Mayawati.

At one point, he said that if his retirement was what Mayawati wanted for the sake of the movement, then leaving politics was a small sacrifice—and that even giving his life for her would be a matter of pride.

The language underscores the depth of the political relationship between Siddharth and Mayawati, even as their disagreement has become public.

Siddharth denies influencing Akash Anand

A central allegation he seeks to rebut is that he has been attempting to influence or misguide Akash Anand.

Siddharth said he had not even met Anand regularly in recent months and had only encountered him on a few occasions when Anand’s programmes happened to be in states for which Siddharth had organisational responsibility.

He rejected accusations that he was attempting to take control of the BSP or manipulate Anand.

According to Siddharth, such allegations were the product of a conspiracy by his political opponents within the party.

He said he believed the truth would eventually become clear to Mayawati.

The real question: Will Akash Anand return?

Siddharth’s retirement removes the immediate obstacle identified by Mayawati, but it does not itself guarantee Akash Anand’s political rehabilitation.

Mayawati has made clear that any restoration of Anand’s responsibilities remains her decision.

That leaves the BSP with a significant political choice.

Akash Anand had once been positioned as an important younger face of the party, making his future relevant to questions about the BSP’s organisational direction and generational transition.

The current episode, however, suggests that Mayawati remains firmly in control of that decision.

A battle unfolding since 2024

The dispute has been unfolding since 2024 and has increasingly acquired the character of a wider battle over the future direction of the BSP.

What makes the latest development particularly important is that Siddharth has now taken the step Mayawati publicly demanded.

The political question has therefore shifted.

It is no longer simply whether Siddharth will leave politics. He says he has done so. The question now is whether Mayawati will respond by restoring Akash Anand to an active organisational role.

For the BSP, the timing is critical, with Assembly elections approaching in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab.

Mayawati has framed the coming electoral battles as crucial to the Bahujan movement, while Siddharth has framed his retirement as a sacrifice for that same movement.

The next move, consequently, belongs to Mayawati.

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