IAS officer who quit service last week joins BJP in Chattisgarh

RAIPUR: THERE ARE REPORTS THAT CHAUDHARY MAY CONTEST THE ASSEMBLY POLLS FROM KHARSIYA CONSTITUENCY, A CONGRESS BASTION, IN HIS NATIVE RAIGARH

Former Raipur district collector O P Choudhary, who resigned from service last week, on Tuesday joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Chhattisgarh. There are reports that he might contest the assembly elections, scheduled to be held by the end of this year.

A 2005-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, Choudhary was inducted into the BJP in the presence of party chief Amit Shah and chief minister Raman Singh in New Delhi.

“I took the membership of the BJP in the presence of Amit Shah ji and Dr Raman Singh ji in Delhi,” Choudhary posted on his Facebook page along with his photo with Shah and Singh.

Choudhary, who hails from Bayang village in the state’s Raigarh district, had last week resigned from the administrative service, saying he wanted to devote his time for the “betterment of people and the area”.

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), New Delhi, accepted his resignation on August 24.

In a video message posted on his social media page, he said, “...After joining the civil services, I tried my best to do whatever I can for the people. But now the collectorship was about to end and service at Mantralaya was to start. In such a situation, the dreams which I had seen for my people would not be fulfilled from inside Mantralaya. In my opinion, politics provides opportunity along with challenges, through which hundreds of administrators can be raised.”

There are reports that Chaudhary, who is credited for “transforming” the education sector in the naxal-affected Dantewada district of the state, could contest the assembly polls from Kharsiya constituency, a Congress bastion, in his native Raigarh district.

Umesh Patel, the son of former state Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel who was killed in Jhiram valley naxal attack in Darbha region of Bastar ahead of 2013 assembly polls, is the incumbent legislator from Kharsiya.

Sources in the BJP said the party has been looking for a candidate for the assembly seat.

Choudhary belongs to Aghariya community, a dominant Other Backward Class community in Raigarh, and he may dent the traditional Congress vote bank if the saffron party decides to field him from this seat.

The officer was given the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration for the year 2011-12 for his contribution in development of Naxal-affected areas through education. Choudhary came to spotlight in 2011-12 when he was posted as Dantewada Collector and had set up ‘Education City’ in Jawanga village of the district.

State BJP chief Dharamlal Kaushik said, the party will benefit from Choudhary, who is connected to the rural areas, from where he belongs, and served as an administrative officer.

“He has a better understanding of the schemes and issues that concern people as he has worked in the state and has been popular due to his works,” Kaushik said.