Mayawati appoints brother, nephew to top posts in BSP

Lucknow : BSP chief Mayawati on June 23 appointed her brother Anand Kumar as the party’s national vice-president and named her nephew Akash Anand as national coordinator, a senior leader said.

An MBA graduate from London, Akash made his first public appearance in 2016 when he accompanied Mayawati to Saharanpur. He has also shared the stage with her during a rally in Meerut in February 2017.

The decision was taken after a meeting with the leaders of the party in Lucknow.

Amroha MP Danish Ali has been selected as the party leader in Lok Sabha, while Nagina MP Girish Chandra has been appointed chief whip.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticised the appointments and accused the BSP of practising dynastic politics. "Whether it's the Congress, SP or BSP, these are family parties... they don't represent India or the Indian people," said Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minisyer KP Maurya.

During the meeting other important issues like removal of EVM machines and use of ballot papers across the country were discussed.