List of two dozen IAS, IPS, IRS, IFS officers contesting 2014 Lok Sabha polls

Yashwant Sinha, Ajit Jogi, Manishankar Aiyer --- all these and many more known names in Indian politics have one thing in common. All of them excelled as bureaucrats before joining the political bandwagon and deciding to come to Parliament though a harder route — election. As the world’s biggest election process is currently underway in India, BoI here presents a list of 24 contenders who earlier had worked IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS etc. They…
are aware of problems and possible solutions because of their first innings as babus. Also, many of them don’t want to retire and go into the oblivion. They want to remain close to the people, and maybe closer to power corridors.
Former home secretary RK Singh, for example, is a 1975-batch retired IAS. He knew inside out of the UPA government but decided to join the BJP and is now contesting from Arrah constituency in Bihar. Former Kerala Governor Nikhil Kumar, a retired 1963-batch IPS officer, was brought back from the Raj Bhawan so that he could fight elections from Bihar's Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat on a Congress ticket. Another retired bureaucrat Christy Fernandez, a 1973-batch former IAS officer of Gujarat cadre, is trying his political luck as an independent (but backed by CPI-M) from Kerala’s Ernakulam constituency. Fernandez, who had served as secretary to former President Pratibha Patil, was also a contender for the post of Delhi Lieutenant Governor.
Then of course, Arvind Kejriwal of Aam Aadmi Party is now a household name in India. He left Indian Revenue Service mid-way to work as a social activist before plunging into active politics. Another prominent IRS-turned politician, Udit Raj, is contesting elections from Delhi.
But this election will specially be remembered for IPS officers’ participation. Two former IPS officers, who happen to be brothers, are contesting from Rajasthan’s Dausa constituency. Harish Meena, a 1976-batch retired IPS officer, is contesting on a BJP ticket against his brother Namo Narain Meena. The big brother Meena is a 1969-batch retired IPS officer and Union minister of state for finance. He is contesting on a Congress ticket.
In Bihar, former IAS officer K P Ramaiah (1986-batch) is being pitted against Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar from Sasaram. Ramaiah, who has served at various positions in Bihar during his stint as an IAS officer, is contesting on a JD-U ticket. Congress' Kumar is also a former Indian Foreign Service (IFS) official. She joined IFS in 1973 and resigned from the service in 1985. Meira Kumar is the incumbent MP from Sasaram.
Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party too has also placed a number of IPS officers from across the country – Mizoram in the east, Maharastra in the west and Kerala in the south. M Lalmanzuala, a retired Punjab cadre IAS officer of 1967 batch, is the AAP candidate from the lone seat in Mizoram. His main rival is Congress' sitting MP CL Ruala.
AAP has also fielded Ajit Joy, a 1992 batch former IPS officer, from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram constituency. The seat is represented by Union minister of state for human resource development Shashi Tharoor. Joy took voluntary retirement from the Indian Police Service.
AAP has also given ticket to former IPS officer Suresh Khopade from Maharashtra's Baramati seat. Khopade is contesting against Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate and sitting MP Supriya Sule, daughter of Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar.
In MP, former IAS officer Bhagirath Prasad is contesting as BJP candidate from Bhind constituency against Congress' Imarti Devi. In Haryana, former IAS officer Yudhbir Singh Khyalia is contesting from Hisar on an AAP ticket.
In Jharkhand, former IPS officer Ajay Kumar and sitting MP is again contesting from Jamshedpur constituency as Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) candidate.
Retired IPS officer Rameshwar Oraon is contesting from Lohardaga seat in Jharkhand on a Congress ticket.
Former Jharkhand police chief and retired IPS officer Vishnu Dayal Ram is contesting from state's Palamau constituency on a BJP ticket against Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's Kameshwar Baitha.
Another former IPS officer Amitabh Choudhary is contesting from Ranchi constituency of the state against sitting MP and Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahay.
In Bihar, former police chief Ashish Ranjan Sinha is contesting from Nalanda seat. Sinha, a former IPS officer, has served as Bihar's Director General of Police.
In Uttar Pradesh, former IPS officer Satyapal Singh is contesting from Baghpat seat against sitting MP and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh.
In West Bengal, retired IPS officer RK Handa is fighting from Barrackpur constituency. Handa, a 1967-batch former IPS officer, is fighting as BJP candidate. All India Trinamool Congress' Dinesh Trivedi currently represents the seat in Lok Sabha. Another BJP candidate in West Bengal Sujit Kumar Ghosh, is an ex-IPS officer who had worked as CBI’s joint director and West Bengal DGP. He is contesting from minorities-dominated Murshidabad constituency.

List of IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS officers contesting Lok Sabha Elections, 2014

Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
1. Christy Fernandez (Ex-IAS) (Independent, supported by CPI-M) Ernakulam, Kerala
2. RK Singh (Ex-IAS) (BJP), Arrah, Bihar
3. KP Ramaiah (Ex-IAS) (JD-U), Sasaram, Bihar
4. Bhagirath Prasad (Ex-IAS), (BJP), Bhind, Madhya Pradesh
5. Yudhbir Singh Khyalia (Ex-IAS) (AAP), Hisar, Haryana
6. Ajit Jogi (Ex-IAS), (Congress), Mahasamund, Chhattisgarh

Indian Foreign Service (IFS)
1. Mani Shankar Aiyar, (Ex-IFS), Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu
2. Meira Kumar (Ex-IFS) (Congress), Sasaram, Bihar

Indian Police Service (IPS)
1. Nikhil Kumar (Ex-IPS) (Congress) Aurangabad, Bihar
2. Harish Chandra Meena (Ex-IPS) (BJP), Dausa, Rajasthan
3. Namo Narain Meena (Ex-IPS) (Congress), Dausa
4. M Lalmanzuala (Ex-IPS) (AAP), Mizoram
5. Ajit Joy (Ex-IPS) (AAP), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
6. Suresh Khopade (Ex-IPS) (AAP), Baramati, Maharashtra
7. Ajay Kumar (Ex-IPS) Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), Jamshedpur, Jharkhand
8. Rameshwar Oraon (ex-IPS) (Congress), Lohardaga, Jharkhand
9. Vishnu Dayal Ram (Ex-IPS) (BJP), Palamau, Jharkhand
10. Amitabh Choudhary (Ex-IPS), Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), Ranchi, Jharkhand
11. Ashish Ranjan Sinha (Ex-IPS), (Congress), Nalanda, Bihar
12. Satyapal Singh (Ex-IPS), (BJP) Baghpat, UP
13. RK Handa (Ex-IPS), (BJP) Barrackpurr
14. Sujit Kumar Ghosh (Ex-IPS), (BJP), Murshidabad, West Bengal.

Indian Revenue Service
1. Arvind Kejriwal (Ex-IRS) (AAP) Varanasi, UP
2. Udit Raj (Ex-IRS), North West Delhi