Emphasising that the โentire Bahujan Samajโ was her family, Mayawati said its welfare remained her priority. She said she had taken several strict decisions in recent days to enforce discipline in the party and that relatives and their families could not be exempted from such action.
Anandโs reinstatement is the latest turn in his often turbulent political relationship with Mayawati. He was expelled from the BSP in May 2024 and again in March 2025, and was taken back within a month on both occasions. The latest episode therefore marks the third time in little over two years that Mayawati has reversed an expulsion involving her nephew.
The repeated reversals have also kept alive questions about Mayawatiโs succession plans for the BSP. Anand entered active politics in 2017 and was first appointed national coordinator in 2019. He was made a star campaigner for the BSP in Himachal Pradesh in 2023 and was subsequently projected as a potential successor to Mayawati.
But his rise has been far from linear. His perceived proximity to his in-lawsโ family has reportedly been a source of distrust between him and Mayawati, while his repeated comebacks suggest that, despite the disagreements, the BSP chief has not given up on the possibility of a larger organisational role for him.
The latest decision also comes at a time when the BSP is seeking to rebuild its organisation and political relevance in Uttar Pradesh.
Restoring Anand to a key organisational post could signal that Mayawati still sees him as an important part of that effort, even as she has repeatedly demonstrated that no position in the party is beyond her authority to withdraw.
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