Babus resign to try their luck in politics

Even as the countdown to Gujarat Assembly elections has begun with some leaders resorting to direct verbal attacks and others to veiled attacks, there are a few who are waiting in the queue to take the plunge.

And yes, they are none other than a few select experienced bureaucrats and police officers of the state who want to take the plunge.

R M Patel, principal secretary of the Panchayat department, was scheduled to retire this year, but has already put in his papers to contest for one of the urban seats in Ahmedabad.

Another serving IPS officer B D Vaghela of the 1993 batch, too, has resigned to contest the elections on a BJP ticket from a tribal belt.

Vaghela is now serving as the additional commissioner of police in Surat.  Officials say there were more in the pipeline at the level of district development officer and deputy district officers who also want to put in their papers and try out their luck in the political ring rather than continue with their careers in the administration and be under political bosses.

Speaking to Deccan Herald about his resignation, Vaghela said: “I have not yet thought in which constituency I will contest but from wherever I do I will treat it as a chance to
serve the people.”

 He said that he had given the same reason in his resignation as well.

He said that even while in service he had been trying to help people in whatever way he could and if he gets a chance to get into politics he will be able to serve people better. ACS (Home) S K Nanda confirmed that the department had received Vaghela’s resignation and it was still to be decided whether his resignation would be accepted.
This is not the first time that Gujarat will see a flurry of officers in the fray.  
Commissioner of Police Jaspal Singh too retired to contest elections.

Singh later on went to become the Minister of Civil Supplies in the Keshubhai regime. Singh later changed parties and is now again back with Patel’s Gujarat Parivartan Party to try his luck in his old constituency of Vadodara.