Bihar ex-DGP Pandey’s political ambitions hit a hurdle as Buxar assembly seat lands with BJP

Gupteshwar Pandey was keen to contest Bihar assembly polls from hometown Buxar, but the constituency has gone to BJP as part of the NDA seat-sharing agreement.

Former Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey | ANI Photo

Patna: Former Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey’s quest to contest the assembly elections, scheduled to take place in three phases from 28 October, has run into rough weather.  

Pandey, who joined the JD(U) last month, was looking to contest from Buxar, his hometown, but the constituency has gone to the BJP as part of the NDA seat-sharing agreement between the allies. 

The BJP, it is learnt, is reluctant to give him the ticket. “The BJP leadership is likely to take a call on the seat today,” party spokesperson and former MLA  Rajiv Ranjan told ThePrint. 

The BJP released a list of 27 candidates Tuesday night but two seats from Buxar district — Buxar and Brahampur — have been left out. It, however, has named a candidate from Shahpur, an adjoining constituency seen as an alternative seat for Pandey. 

The former DGP told ThePrint that he was unaware of the developments. “I am waiting for the call,” Pandey said Wednesday morning. Incidentally, Brahampur is being withheld because the BJP is likely to give it to the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) — the party of Bollywood set designer Mukesh Sahni who quit the opposition Grand Alliance last week.   

Why BJP is reluctant to part with Buxar

The BJP’s reluctance to hand Pandey the Buxar ticket is ironically because of the Sushant Singh Rajput death case that brought the former DGP into national limelight.

The Bollywood actor was from Bihar. 

Pandey had taken credit for the Bihar Police’s actions after an FIR was filed in Patna by Sushant’s father against the actor’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty.  

But with the increasing belief that Sushant died by suicide, particularly after the AIIMS forensic report ruled out murder, the BJP is on the back foot in Maharashtra. 

At the peak of the controversy, Pandey controversially said Rhea Chakraborty had no “aukat (status or standing)” to question Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, but backtracked later.

The 1987-batch IPS officer had also accused the Mumbai Police of not cooperating with his force, when the latter landed in the city for a probe into the case. The Shiv Sena is now evoking Maharashtra pride, with Pandey contesting on an NDA ticket.   

The party has sworn that it will field a candidate against Pandey if he contests. NCP leader and Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh too joined in by taunting former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is the BJP’s Bihar election in-charge, if he campaigned for Pandey.

“It is a controversy, which the former CM of Maharashtra would not like to face after Bihar polls,” remarked a senior BJP leader, who did not wish to be named.  

BJP leaders also pointed out that while Pandey was close to their party in 2009, he later tilted towards the JD(U). “Names of possible candidates for a constituency are forwarded by the district unit of the party,” said another senior BJP leader. “If we give him (Pandey) a ticket, there will be a revolt in the local unit.” 

Local factors 

There are also local factors at play. 

Buxar is a BJP stronghold, represented thrice by Sukhda Pandey, a university professor and very articulate leader. She has, however, quit active politics.

Sources in the BJP, which had been eager to find a replacement, said Wednesday evening that Parshuram Chaturvedi, son of four-term Congress MLA Jagat lal Chaturvedi, has been given the ticket for Buxar. Chaturvedi, sources added, is the choice of Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey, who happens to be the local MP.

Chaturvedi, sources said, will file his nomination papers Thursday, the deadline for the first phase of the polls.

Gupteshwar Pandey is believed to have made an unsuccessful attempt to get a BJP ticket in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, and had even sought voluntary retirement from service (VRS), but it was rejected by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who was at the helm even back then.

This time he opted for Nitish’s JD(U) and took VRS last month, though he was scheduled to retire only in February 2021. He joined the JD(U) in the presence of the chief minister and even released a video depicting himself as a “Dabang police officer”, claiming the Sushant Singh Rajput case as a personal victory.

He has, however, denied allegations that the FIR filed in Patna had anything to do with his political ambitions.

This report has been updated with additional information