Mayawati’s soft-launch of another nephew stokes party cadres’ imagination

Lucknow: A formal introduction of her 26-year-old nephew in a party meeting two days ago has set the rumour mills whirring that Mayawati may soon introduce Ishan Anand into politics to reinvigorate her flagging party.

On January 16, a day after her 69th birthday, the Bahujan Samaj Party chief introduced her second nephew, Ishan Anand, a law graduate from the University of Westminster, London, to the cadres at a party meeting.

Party members who attended the meeting said the introduction was simple but pregnant with possibilities.

Akash Anand, Ishan’s elder brother, is already the party’s national convener and was tasked with key party assignments like Haryana polls earlier and is helming the party’s campaign for the Delhi polls now. Both Anand and Ishan are sons of Maya’s brother Anand Kumar.

“During the introduction at the party forum, ‘Behenji’ simply said, this is Ishan. Currently, he is helping his father in his business,” a party cadre told news agency.

“Akash bhaiya stood on the left of Behenji while Ishan bhaiya stood on to her right along with Satish Chandra Mishra ji,” the person said, claiming that this was the first time her younger nephew was seen with the four-time Uttar Pradesh chief minister at a party meeting.

Uttar Pradesh BSP chief Vishwanath Pal said if at all Ishan is inducted into the party, it would not be discreet.

“If Ishan bhaiya has to join the party, his name will be announced with great fanfare and Behenji will give him some important responsibility in the party,” he said. At the meeting, as Mayawati raised questions on the law and order situation in UP, Ishan was seen noting down her instructions. “He kept noting

everything in a diary,” a party member recalled.