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.

Civil Servants Leave Jobs for Party Tickets

Ranchi, March 4
This story was published here: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/politics/former-bureaucrats-line-up-for-tickets-in-bihar-jharkhand/

At least six former civil servants are likely to be in the fray for Jharkhand's 14 seats this elections, with almost all of them preferring to be with the BJP.

The competition is so intense that two retired officers, of the IPS and IAS, are competing against each other to be BJP's candidate from the SC-reserved Palamu seat.

The BJP attributes this inflow to its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. "There is a Modi wave all over the country. These people, who want to serve the people, are attracted by the work of Modi," said senior BJP leader and legislator Raghubar Das.

Three seem to have guaranteed themselves seats: former Additional Director of Police Amitabh Choudhary who has joined the JVM(P), along with two sitting MPs, BJP's Yashwant Sinha and JVM(P)'s Ajoy Kumar. Sinha, the Hazaribagh MP and former Union Finance Minister, was an a Joint Secretary. Kumar, who resigned after making Superintendent of Police, won the 2011 by-election from Jamshedpur.

Choudhary, also the Jharkhand State Cricket Association president, took voluntary retirement in July last year. After unsuccessfully angling for the BJP's Ranchi ticket, he joined Babulal Marandi's party on February 27. The party is yet to declare its candidates, but Choudhary looks all set to contest. At an interview last week, Choudhary - who had seven years of service left - sought to distinguish himself from most of the others. “There is a distinction between somebody who had an option and has left that option to choose this. The other case is where they did not have an option – they were superannuated, had few months’ service left or there were no chance they would have reached the top of their cadre. These are different cases from where somebody who was already at the top and had a long tenure left. What have you left to come here?” he said.

Former Jharkhand Director General of Police V.D. Ram joined the BJP in April last year after retirement. He wants to contest from the Palamu seat and has been touring the constituency. However, retired IAS officer Mukhtiar Singh, who was chairperson of the Jharkhand Electricity Regulatory Commission post-retirement, has joined the same party and wants the Palamu seat for himself.

Punjab cadre IPS officer Arun Oraon, whose in-laws held the Lohardaga constituency for four tenures between them, is waiting for the BJP's green light to join and officially launch his campaign. Lohardaga is also the constituency of former IPS officer Rameshwar Oraon, who won in 2004 but lost in 2009. "I have requested that my home cadre relieve me by March 10. I know Lohardaga well; apart from the history my in-laws have, I have served there, too," he said. His father Bandi Oraon lost in the constituency in 1996. Bandi Oraon was a two time state legislator from Gumla's Sisai; Arun Oraon's wife and state minister Geetashree Oraon represents the constituency now.

Jharkhand's former energy secretary Vimal Kirti Singh is reportedly intent on joining the BJP. However, his choice of constituency is not clear yet - earlier reports from the bureaucrat's camp indicated his intention of contesting from home state Bihar; of late, it seems that he might go for Dhanbad in Jharkhand.

The Congress on Monday inducted former IAS officer Binod Kispotta into the party on Monday. Kispotta, of the Manipur cadre, retired as an additional secretary in 2012. Congress sources say he is not likely to contest in the general election, though.