On the expected lines, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Supremo Mayawati on Sunday announced the reinstatement of her nephew Akash Anand as the party’s National Coordinator and her political successor.

“He (Akash Anand) will remain as the National Coordinator of the party as well as my sole successor. I have full hope that now he will emerge as a mature leader at every level in the interest of his party and movement,” Mayawati announced in a meeting here called to review the party’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls.

Addressing senior party leaders from all over the country, including state presidents, she asked them to support and respect Akash Anand so that now he can fully live up to all her expectations in the future.

Akash Anand was removed from all the posts on May 7 during the Lok Sabha polls after FIR was registered against him in Sitapur following his derogatory statement on BJP leaders.

During the meeting, Akash Anand touched the feet of Mayawati and took her blessings.

She also announced that the party from now on will contest the by-elections whether of assembly or Lok Sabha.

On the Lok Sabha poll debacle, the BSP president blamed it on the wrong propaganda by Opposition parties, especially on many other issues like the change of the Constitution.

Mayawati said the NDA Government at the Center is not stable. In such a situation, her party people have to increase their support base on a war footing by promoting missionary people in the party organisation across the country so that the party could be strengthened at every level. Not only this, people, especially the poor and weaker sections, got misled regarding some issue or the other in the elections, who are supporting their only well-wisher, BSP in the past.

She called upon the party cadre to pull up their socks, as the party has to be strengthened before assembly polls slated in several states.

While discussing the current political situation in the country, the party people were also asked to be alert and always ready so that the party does not suffer such a loss again in future elections.

Taking a swipe at Congress, she said the party that has always opposed Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar now talks of saving the Constitution made by him. “Not only this, when the Indian Constitution came into force, the Congress government did not give the full benefit of legal rights, especially related to reservation, to the people of the SC, ST, and OBC categories of the country as per the Constitution. And when Baba Saheb’s views were not listened to other and important issues of public interest, then he resigned from the Law minister post”, she said.

She said, “Baba Saheb had advised the people of these sections to unite and form their own separate political party and take the master key of the political power of the Center and the States in their own hands so that then these people can enjoy the legal rights given in the Constitution. Now, the BSP is fighting for that right.”