BSP appoints former RS MP Raja Ram as national coordinator

Lucknow: In a bid to strengthen the organisation and decentralise its functioning, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) appointed former Rajya Sabha MP Raja Ram as its third national coordinator, alongside Ramji Gautam and Randhir Beniwal.Strategically, the three national coordinators belong to the Dalit community. Raja Ram was the Rajya Sabha MP from November 2014 until November 2020. He worked extensively for the BSP in Maharashtra and other states. He is from Azamgarh in UP.In keeping with Mayawati's strategy to reward people working hard for the party and the organisation, more such leaders may be given significant responsibilities at the national level, said sources.Those being upgraded in the party hierarchy are predominantly from the Dalit community, mostly from the Jatav sub-caste, as has been visible in the district level and bhaichara (brotherhood) committees. OBCs come a close second in the appointments.Meanwhile, after removing her nephew, Akash Anand, from the post of national coordinator of the BSP on March 2, BSP chief Mayawati appointed two national coordinators, her brother Anand Kumar and Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Gautam.After Anand Kumar, who is also the vice president of the party, expressed his inability to hold two posts in the party, Mayawati replaced him with Randhir Beniwal, a leader with a long association with the party.