While talks of dynast politics may have seemingly ended with the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, but political leaders continue to encourage nepotism in their parties.The latest to join the 'family club' is Bahujan Samaj Party president, Mayawati, who has appointed her nephew Akash, as the sole national coordinator of BSP.Akash was party's national coordinator earlier as well, along with Ramji Gautam, but has now been given the responsibility alone.Party sources said the move indicates that he is being groomed for a bigger role - possibly an heir apparent to Mayawati."While nothing has been said about his future role in the party, this move has made it clear that he is in a special position and will now be groomed for a bigger role ahead," said a senior party functionary.Sources said that Akash was deliberately kept away from campaigning because Mayawati did not want him to debut at a time when the party was not fully prepared to form government.However, Akash has been actively involved in party meetings across various other states where his role was better defined.
The BSP will now shift its focus to other states where Assembly elections are due before the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.Mayawati has divided the country into seven sectors and appointed sector coordinators to monitor party activities.UP stands alone in Sector 1 for which a coordinator is yet to be appointed.In sector 2, she has placed Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Bengal, Daman and Diu and this will be monitored by senior party member Dharamveer Ashok.In sector 3 are Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, which will be monitored by former national coordinator Ramji Gautam.Party MP Siddharth Ashok has been appointed coordinator for sector 4 which includes Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Uttarakhand, where polls have just concluded, has been placed in the last sector.Of these, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, MP and Nagaland have elections in 2023 while Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat will go to polls in the end of 2022.The party will also focus on recovering its lost vote share in almost all states where it has recently contested polls.