Will enter politics only if...: Ex-DGP of Bihar

Ex-Director General of Police of Bihar, Gupteshwar Pandey on Wednesday said that he would enter politics only if the people of his home district Buxar want him to do so.

"People have been coming to me in large numbers from Begusarai, Sitamarhi, Shahpur and several other districts, telling me that if I wish to enter politics then I should contest election from their district. Buxar is my home district where I was born and brought up. It will be a decision by them. If they want me to, then I may enter politics" Pandey said.

"Criticism from political leaders is inevitable as I don't have family members in politics to look out for me. My family used to do farming and rear cattle. Some people don't find it acceptable which is why they are saying these things," he added.

Reacting to the a music video 'Robinhood Bihar ke' featuring him, Pandey said, "A fan has made this video of me to express his love for me. I did not have anything to do with it, but I am glad that they look up to me."

Pandey quit as DGP after his request for voluntary retirement was approved on Tuesday by the Bihar government, which waived a three-month mandatory cooling-off period.

Pandey is likely to contest as a National Democratic Alliance candidate in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, sources said.

Pandey, a daring IPS officer known for his rustic mannerisms, had sought voluntary retirement in 2009 amid speculation that he wanted to contest the Lok Sabha election from Buxar.

It was rumoured that the Bharatiya Janata Party wanted to field him from the seat which has substantial Brahmin votes.

The saffron party changed its mind and did not field Pandey.

In a rare concession by a state government for an IPS officer who had voluntarily quit service, the ruling dispensation in Bihar sat over his resignation for nine months and then reinstated him.

The officer, at whose suggestion, the Bihar government had recommended a Central Bureua of Investigation probe into the death of Patna-born actor Sushant Singh Rajput in Mumbai, rubbished suggestions that his outspokenness in the case was in anyway linked to his political ambitions.

The officer had virtually waged an all-out war with Maharashtra politicians on national television in support of a CBI investigation in Rajput's death case, asserting that it alone could do 'justice' to the deceased actor.

In line of Shiv Sena fire, Pandey, who has a fan following among a section of the youth in Bihar, was unflappable, and declared he will do everything to get the actor justice.

The VRS request of Pandey, who would have retired in February 2021, was accepted by Governor Phagu Chauhan on Tuesday, the day he tendered his resignation.

The election for 243 assembly seats in Bihar is due in October-November.

The tenure of the current assembly will end on November 29.

The Election Commission has not yet taken a final call on poll dates in Bihar due to the coronavirus pandemic.