Vinay Kumar
NEW DELHI: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati on Sunday announced the expulsion of former Rajya Sabha member Ashok Siddarth from the party, less than a year after re-inducting him in September 2025.Mayawati said Siddarth had been expelled with immediate effect in the interest of the party and its movement, adding that he would not be re-inducted in the future.“In the interest of the party and the movement, Ashok Siddarth has been expelled from the BSP with immediate effect and will not be taken back into the party in future,” the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister wrote on X.
Mayawati X post
Explaining the decision, Mayawati noted that Siddarth had earlier been expelled over “indiscipline” during the Maharashtra assembly elections, particularly over issues related to coordination with the party’s state unit in ticket distribution.Mayawati added that Siddharth was subsequently entrusted with organisational responsibilities in states outside Uttar Pradesh to help strengthen the party’s base. However, despite repeated warnings, complaints of indiscipline and violation of party directives continued to surface from Karnataka, Odisha and West Bengal, she alleged.The BSP supremo also clarified that the ex-Rajya Sabha MP had been relieved of all party responsibilities on Saturday. She further alleged that rumours about his possible return to Uttar Pradesh were being deliberately spread to create confusion within the organisation and derail the BSP’s preparations for the next Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.Siddarth, the father-in-law of Mayawati’s nephew Akash Anand, was previously expelled from the BSP in February last year over alleged “anti-party” activities.According to Mayawati, Siddharth was re-inducted after he assured the leadership that such lapses would not be repeated.The BSP chief also announced the expulsion of party coordinator Randhir Singh Beniwal on charges of indiscipline and violation of party directives.According to Mayawati, Beniwal had been entrusted with organisational responsibilities in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
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She also announced that Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Gautam, who was assigned fresh responsibilities in the party’s recent national-level organisational reshuffle, would continue as the BSP’s in-charge for Punjab, along with other states, until the Punjab assembly elections next year and the Lok Sabha polls in 2029.Mayawati further clarified that, under the BSP’s organisational policy, senior office-bearers and coordinators from Uttar Pradesh who are currently handling responsibilities in other states would not be assigned any organisational role in the state.(With PTI inputs)
