"He will prove to be great leader in times to come": BSP leader after Mayawati names nephew as successor

LUCKNOW : After the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo and former chief minister Mayawati named her nephew, Akash Anand, as her successor going into the Lok Sabha elections next year, party leader Chaudhary Sheeshpal Singh on Sunday said 'Behenji' has shifted focus to the crucial poll battle in 2024 and the move is a step in that direction.

Speaking to ANI on Sunday, Singh weighed in on the big takeaway from the BSP meet chaired by Mayawati saying, "At the meeting, she (Mayawati) said Akash Anand is her only successor, as the leaders whom she entrusted with key responsibilities failed to deliver the goods. I think he (Akash) will prove to be a great leader going forward. As of now, he has been assigned to lift the morale of our cadre in states where we are on a weaker footing. Following in the same path that took us to a win in 2007, Behenji asked us to unite every member of the Bahujan community and fight the Lok Sabha elections with full strength. It was also decided at the meeting that the party will observe Bejenji's birthday, henceforth, as Public Welfare Day."

Another BSP leader, Udayveer Singh, said Mayawati's successor will direct his efforts in states other than Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

"With Akash Anand being declared as her successor, we will now strive to project Behenji as a Prime Ministerial face. He (Akash) will be assigned responsibilities in states where we are not on a strong footing. He will not be working in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand but elsewhere where our cadre need a morale boost. He will take care of party affairs when Behenji is away. At the meeting, she asked us to plunge headlong into the preparations for the next Lok Sabha elections. Everyone will have to take responsibility," he said.

The BSP supremo chaired the party meeting at its Lucknow office on Sunday, with an eye on the next Lok Sabha elections. The meeting came a day after the BSP chief suspended Lok Sabha MP Danish Ali for 'anti-party activities'.

However, Ali had denied the allegations, stating that he never indulged in anti-party activities.

The party, earlier, on Saturday, wrote to the MP informing him of his suspension for 6 years.

"You have been told several times not to comment or act, which goes against the policies, ideologies, and discipline of the party. Despite this, you have been acting against the party," the letter read.