OPINION: Power, of a different kind

Ranchi, March 6

As many as eight former civil servants are reportedly jostling for Lok Sabha candidatures in Jharkhand, with about six of them standing a realistic chance of contesting from any of the state's 14 constituencies.

The BJP has come away as the officers' club, with six of the eight preferring to join the party. One of them, former IPS officer Amitabh Choudhary, joined the JVM(P) after the party turned him down. Arun Oraon, Inspector General in the Punjab cadre, is set to join the BJP after Congress - the party of his illustrious father, wife and in-laws - said no.

Obviously, these men are betting on a horse that is seemingly winning. That they are willing to switch sides - in one of the most polarised elections of our times - reeks of opportunism.

However, the national parties in the state should take most of the blame. It is a pity that, even in the 14th year since the formation of the state, these parties have not groomed educated, articulate leaders. It is also an insult to the respective constituencies, nutured by grassroots leaders who reside there.

As far as political parties are concerned, it is a win-win situation: most bureaucrats are disinterested in state-level politics, instead aspiring national recognition. Parties therefore gain a presentable face from Jharkhand - Hazaribagh MP Yashwant Sinha, for example - with state-based leaders finding comfort in the fact that their supremacy will not be challenged.

On the other hand, such men are expendable. There will be no cadres protesting when the party moves on to experiment with someone else if they lose. Rameshwar Oraon, the former IPS officer who won in 2004 from Lohardaga but lost in 2009, is not being associated with the seat this time.

All this of course raises serious concerns about the relationship between the politician and the bureaucrat in the state. Also, with many of them privately admitting that they have been contemplating contesting for many years now, one wonders how it affected their official conduct - like being overtly enthusiastic about a project that fell within the constituency of their choice.

The silver lining to this has been the performance of Jamshedpur MP Ajoy Kumar. The former IPS officer and first-time legislator has been one of the better-performing MPs from the state.

Kumar left the IPS while still an SP. Maybe that is the key to being a good politician - leave before the service gets to you. If that is true, this election is cause for hope. The likes of Choudhary and Oraon applied for voluntary retirement with the best part of their careers ahead of them. They seem to think politics was worth the effort. The people will tell them for sure, come May 16.