EXPLAINED | Why 'Robinhood' Gupteshwar Pandey's Political Innings Shall Remain On Standby In Bihar Elections 2020

NDA's seat-sharing formula came as big disappointment for cop-turned-politician Gupteshwar Pandey, who had taken voluntary retirement last month hoping to get a ticket to contest polls.

(File Photo/ Getty)

Patna: The political bugle in Bihar has been sounded with full blow as parties have started announcing list of candidates in fray for the three-phase polls starting from October 28. A day after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) announced the much-awaited seat-sharing formulae for Bihar polls on Tuesday, Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal United (JDU) shared list of candidates on all 115 seats the party is contesting. However, the entire political development across NDA came as big disappointment for cop-turned-politician Gupteshwar Pandey, who had taken voluntary retirement last month hoping to get a ticket to contest polls. The crucial Buxar seat, Pandey's hometown from where he was speculated to contest elections, going to BJP in NDA seat-sharing agreement and no mention of his name in JDU's list of 115 candidates, it looks like the former Bihar DGP's political ambition will have to wait once again. Even in 2009, Pandey sought voluntary retirement amid speculation that he wanted to contest the Lok Sabha election on BJP's ticket from Buxar. The saffron party, however, denied giving him the ticket following which he continued his services. Speculations To Contest Bihar Elections 2020 from Buxar or Shahpur Seat: Apart from Buxar, speculations were rife that Pandey might also get ticket from Shahpur seat. But now that both the seats are in BJP's kitty, his hopes to contest Bihar Assembly Polls seem to have dashed, for all obvious reasons. Pandey had last month joined the state's ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U). After joining the party, he said that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had called him at his residence and asked him to join the party. Guptestwar Pandey's Rise To Fame Pandey hogged national headlines and became talk of the town in the Sushant Singh Rajput case, after the state police registered an FIR in connection with the actor's death, following a complaint by Rajput's father who lives in Patna. Moreover, he sent a team headed by an IPS officer to Mumbai to probe the case despite the issues of jurisdiction. This had drawn flak from Maharashtra's ruling parties, including the Shiv Sena. Former Bihar DGP's Political Innings To Remain On Standby? What keeps Pandey's political innings on standby is primarily his tussle with the Maharashtra government, especially with Shiv Sena. The Uddhar Thackeray-led party has declared that if Pandey contests the Bihar Elections, it would launch a candidate against him. BJP now has two pivotal reasons for not letting Pandey contest the forthcoming polls in Bihar. 1 - Being a national party with a strong hold in Maharashtra, it would not risk itself by asking Pandey to contest on its ticket from either Buxar or Shahpur seat ; 2 - Maharashtra former CM Devendra Fadnavis, who BJP's election in-charge of Bihar. By taking the risk of accommodating Pandey, BJP would make grounds difficult for Fadnavis in Maharashtra. The Rhea Factor Another reason is the growing sympathy for actress Rhea Chakraborty, whom Pandey upfront said to be the prime accused in the Sushant Singh Rajput's death case. Rhea, after being in NCB custody for 28 days, was granted bail by the Bombay High Court. Throughout the day, hashtags in support of Rhea were trending on Twitter. Evidently after the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) ruled that Sushant died by suicide and CBI not being able to find a murder angle, the saffron party would not want to send out a message that it gave a ticket to someone who made false claims in the case. After the Supreme Court endorsed the CBI investigation recommended by the Bihar government, Pandey had said that Rhea Chakraborty "does not have the aukat (stature)" to comment on the Chief Minister. Minimal Hopes All these factors do not completely shut the doors for Pandey. Being a JDU member and a famous name in Bihar, Nitish Kumar might figure out some other fit for the former DGP, such as inducting him in Bihar cabinet through MLC elections. This, however, is only possible after NDA wins the Assembly polls. Pandey, a 1987 batch IPS officer, took over as Bihar DGP last year. He was scheduled to retire in February 2021 but he took early retirement. Pandey, who has held the post of Superintendent of Police in several districts in Bihar, is renowned for his social work.