Gupteshwar Pandey joined Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United last month.
Patna:
Gupteshwar Pandey, the former Bihar police chief who left the force last month and was seen as preparing for the elections, will not be running this time. Mr Pandey had joined the Janata Dal United led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. But his name was missing from the full list of 115 party candidates announced today.
The former police chief turned out to be unlucky the second time. His attempt to contest the elections from the parliamentary seat in Buxar in 2009 was also unsuccessful. This time, the Buxar seat went to the BJP as part of the seat-sharing deal with JD (U) and the party made no effort to accommodate it.
Mr Pandey had voluntarily retired last month, and with the government prepared to forgo the usual three-month cooling off period, he was ready to step into public life.
A laudatory video had quickly surfaced on Youtube, titled “Robin Hood of Bihar”, which became an instant hit.
In an interview with GalacticGaming, Mr Pandey had just stopped before announcing that he would challenge. “What’s the harm if I join politics? Is it unconstitutional, unethical or illegal?” he had questioned instead.
Three days later, he joined Janata Dal United.
“I was called by CM himself and asked to join. Whatever the party asks me to do, I will. I don’t understand the policy. I am a simple person who spent his time working for the oppressed part of society ”. Mr. Pandey had told the media.
The former police chief had been at the forefront of the Sushant Rajput case, which had been drawn into the political arena before the elections. Not only had Mr Padey taken the case to the Supreme Court, his statements in defense of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had drawn attention to the fact that they were unusually political for an IPS agent. .
His comment on Sushant Rajput’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty – that she did not have the stature (aukat) to criticize Chief Minister NItish Kumar – had resulted in conviction.
Congress had taunted Devendra Fadnavis, BJP’s head of elections in Bihar, saying BJP ally Janata Dal United should not give Mr Pandey a ticket to run.
