Abhishek Banerjee is the nephew of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Akash Anand is the nephew of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and BSP supremo Mayawati. But Abhishek and Akash are similar in more ways than one, most prominently in their efforts to bring about the ruin of their aunts in politics. And then, there is a considerable sense of fanfare within Indian media for the two nephews. Both Abhishek Banerjee and Akash Anand are being groomed by their aunts to take on supreme leadership roles in the TMC and BSP respectively. Finally, both Abhishek and Akash have proven to be worthless in politics.
Mayawati had in 2017 prohibited her family members from holding any important/executive posts within the BSP. In 2019, this policy was reversed to pave way for her nephew to be appointed as the party’s national coordinator, while his father was reinstated as national vice president of the BSP. Akash Anand had first caught the public eye with his presence at the birthday celebration of the BSP supremo in 2019. His rather colourful shoes and youthful persona were sufficient for the media to assume that he would be Mayawati’s inevitable successor.
As national coordinator of the BSP, Akash Anand has miserably failed his aunt. He has not amounted to much in politics yet. The most that Akash is credited with is handling the social media strategy of the BSP, and is also said to have played a crucial role in convincing Mayawati to get on to microblogging site Twitter. Akash, however, has not made any key contribution and has not lived up to the expectations of cadres who want a dynamic leadership to take on Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar who is trying to wean away votes from the BSP, according to TOI.
With less than a year to go for the Uttar Pradesh elections, the BSP cadre on the ground is clueless over who is leading the party. Mayawati’s rather soft opposition to the BJP, and tacit support to its policies has left BSP cadre bewildered, and many are wondering whether this too is a strategy of Akash Anand. The BSP too has come to be plagued by the menace of dynastic politics, which will ensure its ruin in the near future. The propensity of regional satraps to facilitate the growth of only their own kin, even when they are not cut for politics, is ensuring the destruction of many parties. The TMC leads as a primary example of the same, and Mayawati’s BSP is on path of following suit.
Akash Anand is all set to turn into BSP’s Abhishek Banerjee. On his part, Mamata’s nephew has purged all of his dissidents in the party, who have been either forced to quit the TMC and join the BJP, or simply call it a day in politics itself. Abhishek has come to assume control of the TMC in a rather totalitarian manner. On the other hand, the absence of any political astuteness in Akash Anand is what is spelling a disaster for Mayawati.