Escalating her confrontation with nephew Akash Anand, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Thursday expelled him from the party saying he has now been “completely freed” hours after Akash’s father-in-law Ashok Siddharth announced his retirement from active politics, claiming that the BSP chief’s wish was more important to him than anything else.ujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati. (HT file)On Wednesday, Mayawati indicated that her nephew could regain an organisational role if Siddharth retired from politics. She has removed Anand from the post of party’s national coordinator thrice in over two years. This is the second time he has been expelled from the party. Earlier on March 3, 2025, Mayawati had unceremoniously removed Akash from national coordinator’s post and expelled him as well.In a post on X, the BSP chief said: “Akash Anand was relieved of all important responsibilities of the highly crucial position of national coordinator on September 3. In the same way, he is now completely free and relieved from the party, adding if Anand wanted to remain independent, he was free to do so.”Announcing his retirement from active politics, Siddharth said Mayawati’s wish was more important to him than anything else and that he had remained committed to the BSP’s mission for 35 years. He also said that he would remain indebted to the BSP chief all his life for making an ordinary man like him a member of her family.The BSP chief described it as a step taken “too late” and questioned whether Siddharth’s intentions had actually changed. She also accused Akash Anand of remaining more attached to his father-in-law than to the BSP and its movement.In a series of posts on X, Mayawati said had Siddharth taken the decision earlier, “neither the BSP, the Bahujan Samaj nor Akash Anand” would have suffered and she would not have been forced to take repeated tough decisions concerning them.On Wednesday, Mayawati accused Siddharth of repeatedly placing personal and family interests above the party and the Bahujan movement. Siddharth responded on Thursday by announcing his “sanyaas”, saying he had never worked against the BSP’s interests and had barely met Anand in recent months. He also specifically asked Mayawati not to link his retirement with Anand’s return, arguing that Anand had spent two decades under his aunt’s guidance and could not have been misled by him.She said Siddharth’s decision was a case of “better late than never”, but added that if he genuinely cared about Anand’s future and the interests of the BSP, he would have retired immediately after her earlier warnings.She said Siddharth’s delay showed that his “intentions and ambitions” had not disappeared. Mayawati said Anand did not repost her X post despite the message being intended for his own benefit. She contrasted this with what she described as Anand’s earlier practice of reposting her messages to show his loyalty.“If Akash Anand is more concerned about his relations and family attachment than the real interests of the party and the movement, and his own political career linked to it, how can he work for the BSP and the movement while being double-minded” Mayawati asked.