Gupteshwar Pandey, the controversial IPS officer who quit active service last month in the hope of becoming a candidate for the Bihar assembly election, told HuffPost India that he will not quit active politics after being denied a ticket.
“My popularity is my biggest strength and this time I will not back out from active politics. I am here to stay forever,” Pandey told HuffPost India over the phone.
“I am holding a meeting with my team to decide the further plan of action,” he added when asked if he planned to contest as an independent candidate.
Several news reports had speculated that Pandey may contest the upcoming election from Buxar constituency. He joined the JD(U) on September 27 in the presence of chief minister Nitish Kumar.
But the party’s candidate list released on Wednesday did not feature his name.
Pandey’s recent VRS had drawn a lot of attention because he played a role in the Bihar police taking up the Sushant Singh Rajput case. His criticism of the Mumbai Police and comment on Rhea Chakraborty had also created controversy.
Pandey took VRS in 2009 in the hope of getting a Lok Sabha ticket from the BJP but was left disappointed then as well. He was controversially reinstated into the service some months later.