Electoral politics appears to have become too hard for the entry of former IAS and IPS officers in Telangana, which once saw the likes of PV Rangaiah Naidu and Vijayarama Rao successfully opening a fresh stint in politics post retirement.
Barring just one exception, no political party here has given tickets to retired bureaucrats or police officers either for the Assembly or for the Lok Sabha seat this time despite the hard efforts made by some of these aspirants.
At least, seven retired IAS and IPS officers had joined the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) last year but none of them figured on the list of candidates announced by the party recently.
According to Reddy, they had joined the party purely to advise and guide the party leadership on matters crucial to the interests of Telangana and not with an intent to contest. He also feels the party gains little political mileage by fielding former bureaucrats.
But, some of the officers who joined the TRS surely had the ambition to become an elected representative. For instance, former bureaucrat KV Ramanachary, who hails from KCR’s home district of Medak was considered as one of the potential candidates. Ramanachary joined the party last April and was taken into the politburo. He was also working on the election manifesto.
“Individual aspirations are a different thing. I joined the TRS because it had been fighting for the same cause for which I was jailed as a student leader of Osmania University in the early 70s. What role should I be given is a prerogative of the party president,” Ramanachary said.
The only exception is V Dinesh Reddy, who retired as director general of police (DGP) in September last year. He has secured ticket from the YSR Congress for the much sought-after Malkajgiri Lok Sabha constituency after joining the party just a day ahead of the deadline for filing of nominations.
Incidentally, Malkajgiri was preferred by some of these high-profile individuals as this constituency comprises strong pockets of migrant population hailing from the coastal Andhra region. Some of the officers have reportedly tried to secure tickets from the BJP and the TDP for the same constituency but did not succeed.
Former CBI boss Vijayarama Rao, who had held ministerial positions in the TDP government in the past, has been denied ticket by the party this time. Neither Rao nor Rangaiah Naidu, who became a minister in the PV Narashimha Rao government after winning from the Khammam Lok Sabha constituency on a Congress ticket, had won the elections second time.
According to observers, no officer had won in any of the recent elections and this could also have weighed on the minds of party leadership when it comes to ticket allocation. One of the recent examples being, Chandrasekhara Reddy, a former IPS officer, who had first contested on a TDP ticket in the 2004 Assembly elections and then in the 2009 Assembly elections on a TRS ticket, but lost on both the occasions.
Usually, officers who have held high positions in the government service, fail to mingle with people unlike politicians. Political bosses are aware of this handicap, according to a political observer. There were times when some of the former bureaucrats in AP launched their own political parties. Lok Satta president Jayaprakash Narayan is an example.
Interestingly, some of the officers who joined the TRS are from outside the state.
A K Goyel who had retired as principal secretary, finance, is from Haryana state. Similarly S Challappa, another former bureaucrat working in TRS hails from Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, at least two other high-profile police officers also tried to secure BJP tickets but could not due to alliance politics, according to sources.
In coastal Andhra, over half a dozen retired officers are trying for tickets from the TDP and YSR Congress, but have not yet figured on the candidate lists announced so far.
Barring just one exception, no political party here has given tickets to retired bureaucrats or police officers either for the Assembly or for the Lok Sabha seat this time despite the hard efforts made by some of these aspirants.
At least, seven retired IAS and IPS officers had joined the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) last year but none of them figured on the list of candidates announced by the party recently.
More From This Section
“Winning every single seat is a priority for the TRS as it has to come to power. When the winnability is the criteria, officers like us bring very little to the table,” Mahendar Reddy, former DIG of Hyderabad range said responding to a question on why they were not given tickets.
According to Reddy, they had joined the party purely to advise and guide the party leadership on matters crucial to the interests of Telangana and not with an intent to contest. He also feels the party gains little political mileage by fielding former bureaucrats.
But, some of the officers who joined the TRS surely had the ambition to become an elected representative. For instance, former bureaucrat KV Ramanachary, who hails from KCR’s home district of Medak was considered as one of the potential candidates. Ramanachary joined the party last April and was taken into the politburo. He was also working on the election manifesto.
“Individual aspirations are a different thing. I joined the TRS because it had been fighting for the same cause for which I was jailed as a student leader of Osmania University in the early 70s. What role should I be given is a prerogative of the party president,” Ramanachary said.
The only exception is V Dinesh Reddy, who retired as director general of police (DGP) in September last year. He has secured ticket from the YSR Congress for the much sought-after Malkajgiri Lok Sabha constituency after joining the party just a day ahead of the deadline for filing of nominations.
Incidentally, Malkajgiri was preferred by some of these high-profile individuals as this constituency comprises strong pockets of migrant population hailing from the coastal Andhra region. Some of the officers have reportedly tried to secure tickets from the BJP and the TDP for the same constituency but did not succeed.
Former CBI boss Vijayarama Rao, who had held ministerial positions in the TDP government in the past, has been denied ticket by the party this time. Neither Rao nor Rangaiah Naidu, who became a minister in the PV Narashimha Rao government after winning from the Khammam Lok Sabha constituency on a Congress ticket, had won the elections second time.
According to observers, no officer had won in any of the recent elections and this could also have weighed on the minds of party leadership when it comes to ticket allocation. One of the recent examples being, Chandrasekhara Reddy, a former IPS officer, who had first contested on a TDP ticket in the 2004 Assembly elections and then in the 2009 Assembly elections on a TRS ticket, but lost on both the occasions.
Usually, officers who have held high positions in the government service, fail to mingle with people unlike politicians. Political bosses are aware of this handicap, according to a political observer. There were times when some of the former bureaucrats in AP launched their own political parties. Lok Satta president Jayaprakash Narayan is an example.
Interestingly, some of the officers who joined the TRS are from outside the state.
A K Goyel who had retired as principal secretary, finance, is from Haryana state. Similarly S Challappa, another former bureaucrat working in TRS hails from Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, at least two other high-profile police officers also tried to secure BJP tickets but could not due to alliance politics, according to sources.
In coastal Andhra, over half a dozen retired officers are trying for tickets from the TDP and YSR Congress, but have not yet figured on the candidate lists announced so far.