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Two ex-cops eye tickets for same seat in upcoming Raj elections
Mahesh Bhardwaj and ML Sharma, two former police officers have been seeking tickets from the same constituency, from the same party.
Two former police officers from the Central Bureau of Investigation and Delhi Police are among the many aspirants for tickets in the Rajasthan assembly election that will be held later this year. Both are trying for a ticket from the same assembly constituency, Ramgarh (no 67), and from the same party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
There are other similarities as well between Mahesh Bhardwaj, a former Delhi police officer took voluntary retirement on August 1 and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) later in the month , and ML Sharma, who retired as the special director of CBI in 2008, said he will formally join the party in a day or two. Sharma was later appointed Central Information Commissioner between 2008 and 2013.
Both Indian Police Service (IPS) officers were part of probes in high-profile criminal and anti-corruption cases. Both hail from Alwar in Rajasthan. Both were posted in Delhi for much of their career. And both opted for voluntary retirement towards the end of their careers.
The election in the Ramgarh constituency is significant in the backdrop of the recent communal violence in Nuh, Haryana, which shares its border with Ramgarh constituency. The current MLA is Shafia Zubair of the Congress party.
Bhardwaj has served in the Delhi anti-corruption unit, as personal security officer (PSO) of Indian President, and also been part of the NHRC team appointed by the Supreme Court to probe alleged fake encounters in Manipur. Sharma during this decades-long stint with CBI probed three hijackings including that of IC814 in 1999, the 1995 assassination of Punjab chief minister Beant Singh , and the ISRO espionage case.
“As a bureaucrat or a police officer, there is a limit when it comes to serving the people. This is why I decided to take the plunge and join politics. I have been meeting people of the constituency every day and I am in touch with senior party leaders. I think the time is right to join politics and serve my people here. And there is no party better than the BJP,” Sharma said.
Bhardwaj, who retired as additional commissioner in Delhi police, said he too has been actively meeting people since the day he retired. “My police job offered a limited canvas. Politics will offer a bigger canvas to serve the people of my native district. India is the biggest democracy and BJP is the largest party. I decided to take plunge into politics and join the party months before the election.”
The two former officers are aware that they are trying for a ticket from the same constituency. Sharma said any person is free to contest and seek a ticket. “I have met party leaders and have also started campaigning in the area. I am not only from Alwar but also from the Ramgarh constituency and know the issues well.”
Bhardwaj said, “I am also trying for a ticket from Alwar constituency. I am aware Sharma is looking to contest from Ramgarh. It is up to the party to decide who it thinks is the suitable candidate.”
