Politicians con Bihar’s former top cop
Law Kumar Mishra
Patna, October 7
Gupteshwar Pandey left Khadi to don Khaki, but Bihar’s former top cop seemed to have become a victim of “political fraud” at least in the assembly elections.
The Indian Police Service (IPS) official of 1987 batch took voluntary retirement and joined politics. Surprisingly, he found his name missing in the list of 115 candidates released by the party today.
Pandey was neither preferred by the JD(U) nor its ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The list of BJP aspirants were also released today.
The former Bihar police chief last month joined the JDU and was aspiring to contest the assembly elections. He had preferred two constituencies—Buxar and Shahpur in his home district.
He had started preparations for the elections too and had claimed thousands of his followers had visited him to persuade him to contest the elections. Pandey today said he was waiting for the call.
Having come to limelight by making statements on the Sushant Singh Rajput death case and even challenged his girlfriend Rhea Chakarvarty and Shiv Sena leader,Sanjay Raut.
Buxar is represented by the union minister of state for health and family welfare Ashwini Kumar Chaubey and he is strongly in favour of fielding a candidate of his choice from Buxar. BJP wants to field its candidate from Shahpur too.
The former DGP may have to wait for the announcement of the candidate for Lok Sabha by-election scheduled from Valmikinagar. Pandey had unsuccessfully tried to contest 2009 elections too. He had resigned, but BJP did not oblige him and fielded the sitting MP, Lalmuni Chaubey.
Pandey withdrew his papers and rejoined service.
In the JDU final list, the RJD rebels have been obliged. Chandrika Rai, a former transport minister and close relative of the RJD president, Lalu Prasad has been nominated from Parsa.
Two spokespersons of the party Nikhil Mandal and Anjum Ara have been fielded from Mahdepura and Dumraon respectively. Nikhil is grandson of the former chief minister and chairman of Mandal Commission B P Mandal.
The BJP today formally admitted Vikas Sheel Insaan Party(VIP) in its fold and gave 11 seats out of 121 allotted to the party under the seat sharing arrangement in NDA.
VIP president Mukesh Sahani, an event organizer in Mumbai, had left the press conference of Grand Alliance last week in a huff protesting against denial of the required number of seats to the party. Sahni today said he was joining BJP without conditions.
Maharashtra’s former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis who is election in-charge of BJP for Bihar, welcomed him and hoped extremely backward caste voters would ensure success of NDA. Sahani is from the fishermen community.
Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi reiterated his warning to the LJP and said if its candidates used photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in campaign, FIRs would be filed against them.
