Gupteshwar Pandey featured in a viral music video that could teach dancing star actor Salman Khan how to style a police uniform better. Even before that video, he was in the limelight for his initial handling of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide case, but as soon as the video went viral, he took voluntary retirement from the Indian Police Service. The next inning for Ex-DGP was to join politics, hopefully as the Janata Dal (United) star candidate. However, this is not a movie set, and Pandey is not the hero Janata Dal (United) was looking for. Not at the moment. Perhaps they are waiting, watching and ‘training’ the ex-cop but bigger things later, but he does not feature in the list of candidates for the state elections coming soon.
JDU’s list of candidates. pic.twitter.com/KC3k9jRQXs
— Brijesh Pandey (@brijeshpandey27) October 7, 2020
Not one to be disheartened, and with the confidence of someone who possibly is in on a larger plan of political action Gupteshwar Pandey took to social media and told his fans and supporters not to be disappointed that he will not be contesting the polls this time. Pandey was hoping to fight the Assembly elections from Buxar constituency, the grapevine had buzzed for days ahead of this anti-climax.
Pandey, was a regular feature on the news in the early days of the investigation into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. He, a top cop, had made sexist remarks about actor Rhea Chakraborty, Sushant Singh Rajput’s partner and an accused in the case. Pandey’s unsavoury remarks used words like ‘aukat’, slang for social standing but used as an abuse mostly for those considered below par, against her.
— Gupteshwar Pandey (@ips_gupteshwar) September 27, 2020
The Scroll reported that now, since he was not even featured in the electoral list Pandey asked his supporters not to be disheartened, and said “he had struggled all his life and would continue to dedicate himself to working for the people of Bihar.” A report in the Hindustan Times stated that the Bharatiya Janata Party was reluctant to give a ticket to Pandey. “The Opposition, outside Bihar has already started targeting the ruling party for doing petty politics by using the former DGP,” a BJP leader told HT. The Bharatiya Janata Party, Janata Dal (United)’s alliance partner will now contest from Buxar constituency .
The BJP’s first list of 27 candidates gave the Buxar seat to the Vikassheel Insaan Party, which joined the National Democratic Alliance on Wednesday, reported The Scroll. The report added that a Janata Dal (United) leader has said that “Pandey can now hope to get nominated for bye-polls to the Valmikinagar Lok Sabha constituency.” He does not feature even in the second list apparently.
.@BJP4India 2nd list including ticket from Buxar…No JDU candidate as being anticipated from the seat…@ips_gupteshwar was being pitted as candidate to being given a ticket from there pic.twitter.com/hTHuKsKH4c
— Payal Mehta/પાયલ મેહતા/ पायल मेहता/ পাযেল মেহতা (@payalmehta100) October 7, 2020
Bihar Assembly elections begin on October 28, the results will be announced on November 10, 65 bye-elections will also be held along with the state polls. According to reports, Pandey had just followed the footsteps of many who had stepped down from the civil services in the state in the hope of a poll ticket or a nomination to a commission etc. One of the most prominent names is that of Ex Mumbai Police Commissioner, now BJP MP & cabinet Minister Dr Satyapal Singh, who continues to stay in the limelight for comments such as the most recent derogatory ones against social worker Graham Staines who was burnt alive with his young sons, by religious fundamentalists in Odisha.
Another was former Supreme Court Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi who became a BJP MP in Rajya Sabha. As reported in The Print, and many others, it was Gogoi as CJI who set in motion NRC in Assam. According to the Print’s report recently, a senior Odisha-cadre IAS officer who had sought voluntary retirement from the services in September joined the BJP. Party president Amit Shah welcomed the officer, Aparajita Sarangi a 1994-batch IAS officer, was serving as the joint secretary for MGNREGA under the Ministry of Rural Development in the Central government, before she sought voluntary retirement. Elections in Odisha are due in 2019, alongside the general elections.
Another example is 2005 batch IAS officer O.P. Choudhary, who resigned as the collector of Raipur earlier this year, and joined the BJP two days later. Within three months of joining politics to “serve the people”, he received a ticket from Kharsia constituency in Chhattisgarh, and is now awaiting the results of this month’s assembly polls, reported The Print. In Uttar Pradesh, former diplomat Satendra Kumar, who hails from the Dalit community, joined the Congress last month.
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