“Humare paas bhi gora chitta jawan hai (we also have a fair and handsome young man) who could answer political opponents and the media in their language.” This was the impression of a senior Bahujan Samaj Party leader in western Uttar Pradesh about the party’s then-national coordinator Akash Anand when he addressed a rally in Ghaziabad on April 7.
A month later, Mr. Anand, who completed a post-graduate degree in London before joining politics, was sacked from the position by his aunt and BSP supremo Mayawati, after he was booked for a model poll code violation for using abusive language against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in his speeches.
Party sources are quiet on their party chief’s decision to remove Mr. Anand till “he becomes mature”, but they do point out the parts of Mr. Anand’s speeches that were not unparliamentary and seemed politically mature.
