Lucknow, Aug. 30 -- Months after he fell out of favour for the second time and was then reinstated again, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati appointed her nephew Akash Anand as the national convenor of the party in a move that establishes him as the number two in the party with the underlying message that he is the political heir apparent. The shakeup in the party organisation has been carried out in view of the Bihar assembly election due to be held later this year as well as the 2027 assembly election in Uttar Pradesh. Following the appointment, Anand, in a post on X, expressed gratitude to the BSP chief for appointing him as the party's national convenor. "I will work with full dedication and hard work to advance the movement of the most revered Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram forward, in accordance with the guidance and directions of respected Mayawati with all my heart and soul," he said. Mayawati has increased the number of the party national coordinators from three to six. They include Ramji Gautam, Randhir Singh Beniwal, Raja Ram, Lalji Medhankar, Atar Singh Rao and Dharamveer Singh Ashok, all considered old warhorses of the party and close confidants of the BSP chief. Vishawanath Pal will continue as the party's Uttar Pradesh president. In Bihar, Akash Anand has been tasked with strengthening the party organisation by mobilising the party cadre across the state. He will launch the Adhikar Yatra in Bihar in mid-September that will cover two dozen districts. Akash Anand was removed from the post of national coordinator on May 7, 2024 in the middle of the Lok Sabha elections, only to be reinstated and appointed as Mayawati's political successor weeks later on June 23. He was again removed from the key party post a second time on March 3, 2025. A day later, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister expelled him from the party. On April 13, Mayawati reinstated Anand following a public apology by him, but did not give him any post in the organisation immediately. In May, he was appointed party's chief national coordinator. Mayawati had tasked Anand with a key responsibility in expansion of the organisation across the country. The BSP has also appointed new state presidents in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan,Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh and Uttarakhand....