<p>New Delhi: West Bengal Police officials continue to display a penchant for discarding the khaki for the khadi — a trend that took root with the Trinamool Congress (TMC)’s 2011 victory and has since crystallised in state politics as more serving and retired cops enter electoral politics every poll season.</p>.<p>Among the current TMC legislators, Humayun Kabir — one of the two politicians with the same name in the party — joined it in 2021. The former IPS officer won from Debra, polling more than 95,000 votes. For the 2026 polls, Kabir has been shifted to Domkal in the Murshidabad district.</p>.<p>Last month, Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee also nominated Rajeev Kumar to the Rajya Sabha. Kumar served as the state director general of police (DGP) till January.</p>.<p>Considered close to Banerjee, he once came under CBI scrutiny when the federal agency was investigating the Saradha scam.</p>.<p>The BJP, too, has fielded a former Kolkata Police chief as its candidate this time. Rajesh Kumar — a 1990-batch IPS officer who retired recently — is its candidate from the Jagatdal Assembly constituency, pitted against TMC heavyweight Somenath Shyam. Kumar was appointed the Kolkata Police chief by the Election Commission (EC) ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.</p>.<p>This trend was normalised in 2011, when Banerjee — the then-Union minister for railways in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet — pulled out all the stops to end the over-three-decades' Left Front rule in the state. She fielded four retired Bengal-cadre IPS officers and a top IAS official to challenge the CPM-led government.</p>.<p>Manish Gupta — a former chief secretary who worked closely with CPM stalwart and former CM Jyoti Basu — was fielded against Basu’s successor Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Gupta emerged as a giantkiller, defeating Bhattacharjee from Jadavpur — a seat the then-CM had held since 1987 and the CPM since 1967.</p>.<p>Gupta became the power minister in the TMC government, and was later rewarded with a Rajya Sabha berth.</p>.<p>The TMC fielded some top Bengal-cadre cops in the same election. The most prominent among them was Haider Aziz Safwi. The former IPS officer was elected from the Uluberia (East) Assembly seat. He won on a TMC ticket on two occasions and served as a minister. At the time of his death in 2018, he was deputy speaker in the Assembly.</p>.<p>Sultan Singh was another top IPS officer who entered the electoral fray on a TMC ticket. The former Howrah superintendent of police (SP) joined active politics after his 2004 retirement and unsuccessfully contested the 2004 Lok Sabha polls on a Congress ticket. He shifted to the TMC, contesting the 2011 Assembly polls from Bally.</p>.<p>Upendranath Biswas was probably the most famous cop on the TMC candidate list in 2011. A 1968-batch IPS officer retired as additional director of the CBI in 2002. He had investigated the Fodder Scam against Bihar ex-CM Lalu Prasad. He won the 2011 Bengal Assembly polls and was appointed the minister for backward-class welfare.</p>.<p>Rachhpal Singh, another IPS officer from the state, who belonged to the Sikh community, contested Tarakeshwar in Hooghly in 2011. In 2016, he was made the minister for statistics and programme implementation, a post he held till months before his 2021 death.</p>.<p>But not all IPS officers won elections on TMC symbols. A former Bengal-cadre IPS officer, Prasun Banerjee, lost the 2024 LS polls to the BJP from Malda North.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, former IPS officer Debasish Dhar got a BJP ticket to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Birbhum. His nomination papers were, however, rejected upon scrutiny.</p>.<p>Former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay resigned from the higher judiciary to join the BJP just ahead of the 2024 LS polls. He is currently a member of Parliament, representing Tamluk in the Purba Medinipur district</p>
<p>New Delhi: West Bengal Police officials continue to display a penchant for discarding the khaki for the khadi — a trend that took root with the Trinamool Congress (TMC)’s 2011 victory and has since crystallised in state politics as more serving and retired cops enter electoral politics every poll season.</p>.<p>Among the current TMC legislators, Humayun Kabir — one of the two politicians with the same name in the party — joined it in 2021. The former IPS officer won from Debra, polling more than 95,000 votes. For the 2026 polls, Kabir has been shifted to Domkal in the Murshidabad district.</p>.<p>Last month, Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee also nominated Rajeev Kumar to the Rajya Sabha. Kumar served as the state director general of police (DGP) till January.</p>.<p>Considered close to Banerjee, he once came under CBI scrutiny when the federal agency was investigating the Saradha scam.</p>.<p>The BJP, too, has fielded a former Kolkata Police chief as its candidate this time. Rajesh Kumar — a 1990-batch IPS officer who retired recently — is its candidate from the Jagatdal Assembly constituency, pitted against TMC heavyweight Somenath Shyam. Kumar was appointed the Kolkata Police chief by the Election Commission (EC) ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.</p>.<p>This trend was normalised in 2011, when Banerjee — the then-Union minister for railways in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet — pulled out all the stops to end the over-three-decades' Left Front rule in the state. She fielded four retired Bengal-cadre IPS officers and a top IAS official to challenge the CPM-led government.</p>.<p>Manish Gupta — a former chief secretary who worked closely with CPM stalwart and former CM Jyoti Basu — was fielded against Basu’s successor Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Gupta emerged as a giantkiller, defeating Bhattacharjee from Jadavpur — a seat the then-CM had held since 1987 and the CPM since 1967.</p>.<p>Gupta became the power minister in the TMC government, and was later rewarded with a Rajya Sabha berth.</p>.<p>The TMC fielded some top Bengal-cadre cops in the same election. The most prominent among them was Haider Aziz Safwi. The former IPS officer was elected from the Uluberia (East) Assembly seat. He won on a TMC ticket on two occasions and served as a minister. At the time of his death in 2018, he was deputy speaker in the Assembly.</p>.<p>Sultan Singh was another top IPS officer who entered the electoral fray on a TMC ticket. The former Howrah superintendent of police (SP) joined active politics after his 2004 retirement and unsuccessfully contested the 2004 Lok Sabha polls on a Congress ticket. He shifted to the TMC, contesting the 2011 Assembly polls from Bally.</p>.<p>Upendranath Biswas was probably the most famous cop on the TMC candidate list in 2011. A 1968-batch IPS officer retired as additional director of the CBI in 2002. He had investigated the Fodder Scam against Bihar ex-CM Lalu Prasad. He won the 2011 Bengal Assembly polls and was appointed the minister for backward-class welfare.</p>.<p>Rachhpal Singh, another IPS officer from the state, who belonged to the Sikh community, contested Tarakeshwar in Hooghly in 2011. In 2016, he was made the minister for statistics and programme implementation, a post he held till months before his 2021 death.</p>.<p>But not all IPS officers won elections on TMC symbols. A former Bengal-cadre IPS officer, Prasun Banerjee, lost the 2024 LS polls to the BJP from Malda North.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, former IPS officer Debasish Dhar got a BJP ticket to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Birbhum. His nomination papers were, however, rejected upon scrutiny.</p>.<p>Former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay resigned from the higher judiciary to join the BJP just ahead of the 2024 LS polls. He is currently a member of Parliament, representing Tamluk in the Purba Medinipur district</p>