IN UTTAR PRADESH, BABUS WILL ALSO CONTEST POLLS?

Lucknow: With the poll-bugle for the Assembly elections of five states including Uttar Pradesh being sounded, the process of applying for voluntary retirement by civil servants has started.

Rajeshwar Singh, Joint Director of Enforcement Directorate and well-known officer of UP Police has applied for VRS and it is being said that he will contest from any seat in NCR region adjoining Delhi on BJP’s ticket.

Recently, Asim Arun, who was appointed commissioner in Kanpur, has also talked about taking VRS and word is that he can fight from Kannauj Sadan seat on BJP ticket.

But the question is, from where are the IAS and IPS officers getting the inspiration to contest elections by taking VRS?

How are executives, who are worried about their career, transfer-posting and secure future, suddenly choosing an insecure field like politics?

Officers have been contesting elections in the past as well, but it seems that the large number of retired and voluntarily retired officers, whom the BJP has brought on important position, seems to have been the inspiration for other officers and perhaps that is why most are joining the BJP.

Last year, Arvind Sharma, an additional secretary level officer in PMO took VRS in a hurry and was sent to Uttar Pradesh.

A few days after reaching Lucknow, he became a member of the Legislative Council and also became party’s Vice President.

It is every bureaucrat’s dream to get a job in PMO but Sharma left PMO and went to do politics in UP!

Although he could not become a minister, but it is believed that if the BJP government comes to power yet again in UP, he will get a big role because he has been a close officer of the PMO from Gujarat to Delhi.

Last year, when the Prime Minister expanded the first Cabinet of his second government, Ashwini Vaishnaw, an IAS officer of Odisha cadre, was given three huge ministries like Railways, Communications and IT.

He is a 1994 batch IAS. Aparajita Sarangi, an IAS officer of batch and cadre similar to Vaishnaw, is currently a Lok Sabha MP of the BJP.

It is not surprising then that the same IAS officer of his batch and Kanpur Commissioner Aseem Arun also wants to contest the elections.

Apart from Vaishnaw, many former bureaucrats like RK Singh, S Jaishankar, Hardeep Singh Puri, who are ministers in Modi’s government, are also the inspiration for new officers to quit their jobs and contest elections.