Raipur: When O.P. Choudhary quit the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) to contest the 2018 Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, everything looked so hunky-dory.
The first to get into the IAS from the then newly-created state, he enjoyed a very good reputation as an administrator who transformed the lives of tribal children in the Naxal hotbed, Dantewada, with his innovative initiatives in the educational sector. He was a hero in his native village and far-flung areas.
So, he didn’t think twice when the then chief minister, Raman Singh, asked him to contest elections. Little did he anticipate the rough and tumble of politics.
Today, having lost the election, with his patron Raman Singh also struggling to retain his political clout after the BJP’s disastrous show in the assembly election, Choudhary must be remembering what then BJP president, Amit Shah, told him when he was going to take the political plunge.
“Prior to joining the BJP, I had the opportunity to meet the then national president of the party, Amit Shah. While I expressed my willingness to join the BJP, he was very kind to say you can become ‘chief secretary’ with such a long career,” Choudhary told ThePrint.
“He stated that politics carries lots of hardship and most of those who see us at the helm do not care about what all goes in the making of a successful political person. But I insisted and was reluctant to reconsider my decision.”
The BJP had fielded Choudhary, who hails from Bayana village in the state’s Raigarh district, from the Kharsia assembly seat, a Congress stronghold, in the 2018 assembly elections that he lost.
Now a full-time politician, Choudhary feels that rather than quitting, IAS officers should find a way to work within the system.
“It’s not proper to question what others said and did, but I believe that the system is the most powerful instrument to work for people and society,” he said. “One can resolve issues by being part of it rather than harbouring antipathy towards it. In a democracy, the bureaucracy is a part of the system along with politics and this is a good combination to serve society.”
He also categorically denied having any regrets of leaving the civil services, saying that he was offered the chance to rejoin service after his 2018 poll loss, but he wanted to move on after enjoying the “best 13 years of his life”.
“Why should there be regret for a well-thought-out and conscious decision?” he said. “You get things in a package, that is true for successes and failures. Those who want comfort and luxury could continue in bureaucracy but I wanted something extra.”
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The 2005-cadre officer who quit
Choudhary, a product of RSS-backed coaching institute Sankalp, was the first son-of-the-soil IAS officer from Chhattisgarh after its formation in 2000.
The 2005-batch officer was 23 when he joined service. He resigned in 2018, ahead of the assembly elections, while serving as the Raipur collector.
“It all started when former Chhattisgarh chief minister Dr Raman Singh and other senior party leaders suggested that I ponder over a political career, following a nearly two-year deployment as the Raipur collector, in August 2018. I resigned after thorough consultations with my well-wishers in Delhi,” he said.
He added that his love for politics has only grown in the two-and-a-half years since his poll loss.
“Politics is challenging and has vices but is also a great way to serve the people. It’s the engine to run democracy,” Choudhary said.
At present, Choudhary is the state BJP secretary and party’s youth affairs in-charge.
BJP leaders in the state also believe handing out responsibilities of youth affairs is a reflection of his stature in the party.
“It’s akin to giving him the task of strengthening the organisation’s backbone. He has been bestowed this responsibility considering his appeal among the youth, his ability to work hard and relate with them, understand their problems and become their voice,” says senior party leader and former spokesperson Sachidanand Upasane.
“O.P. Choudhary is the future hope of the BJP. The evidence lies in the lakhs of social media youth fans following him and the response he gets from them,” said former Chhattisgarh BJP Youth wing media incharge Anurag Agrawal.
“Choudhary joined politics leaving the most prestigious and comfortable service in India. However, the party is yet to make full and objective use of his potential.”
These days Choudhary is touring the state to have first hand feel of rural Chhattisgarh, trips that are punctuated with non-political engagements as a guest lecturer and motivational speaker.
(Edited by Arun Prashanth)
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