Cong’s Udit Raj woos Maya nephew Akash, says BSP now BJP ally

Dalit leader Udit Raj on Thursday invited expelled Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Akash Anand to join the Congress, accusing BSP chief Mayawati of turning the party into an ally of the BJP.

“The BSP has been BJP-ised and we cannot remain silent,” Congress leader Raj said during a presser at his residence.

Anand, the nephew of Mayawati, was recently expelled from the BSP for his alleged anti-party activities.

Reacting to the expulsion, Raj accused Mayawati of betraying the party’s core ideology and claimed that her actions have indirectly helped the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.

“The people who gave birth and strength to BSP were poor Dalits and employees. They were shown the dream of making them rulers and keeping this feeling and goal in mind, the workers kept sacrificing," he said. “The party was not founded with the money of the rich. But as soon as power came, they forgot everything,” he remarked. He accused Mayawati of sidelining leaders nurtured by BSP’s founder Kanshi Ram and said this shift has derailed the movement inspired by Dr BR Ambedkar.

He pointed to the 2022 Uttar Pradesh elections, alleging that Mayawati signaled support for the BJP.

He also cited the removal of Akash Anand from the post of coordinator within 24 hours after he delivered an aggressive speech against the BJP during the Lok Sabha elections.

Raj stated that Akash Anand was made coordinator of the party twice by Mayawati and then removed. "It shows that the BSP is being controlled by the BJP. Mayawati ji would not have taken such a suicidal step without pressure," he said.

He further claimed that if BSP had joined the INDIA bloc for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP would have struggled to form the government. Raj argued that Mayawati’s decisions helped Narendra Modi become Prime Minister, estimating that at least 25 seats could have swung away from the BJP had she allied with the opposition.

"Akash Anand was in favour of a Congress-SP alliance in the Assembly elections, which has created ripples in the BJP," Raj said. He believes that Akash Anand was punished for this reason since the BSP is the only party whose vote bank can be dented by the BJP, and this would have been difficult if he remained in the party.