Chhattisgarh govt panel heads do overtime,for BJP

He is not alone. Several officers holding top constitutional and statutory offices in Chhattisgarh are campaigning for the party in Uttarakhand with support of state administrative machinery. All of them held party posts earlier.

Asked if it amounted to violation of his service rules and election code of conduct,Jain told The Indian Express over the phone: “I am the chairperson only in Chhattisgarh,so restrictions are only there. I can campaign elsewhere. Polls are on January 30,I will return after that.”

State Finance Commission Chairperson Ajay Chandrakar is also among the “star campaigners”. He also admitted to be on poll duty but added,“Yes,I am in Haridwar but since I hold a constitutional post,I won’t say that I am campaigning. Party ka kaam hai bas,wahi dekh raha hoon.”

While Jain is a former president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha,Chandrakar is former Panchayat and Village Minister.

Chairman of State Schedule Caste Commission Dr Krishnamurti Bandhi has just returned after a 15-day long campaign and is about to make another trip to that state soon.

The campaign has other incentives too. In his latest Facebook post,Jain said,“Meri pehli videsh yatra.” He was referring to a brief detour to Nepal during his poll campaign in Champawat,Uttarakhand. Accompanying the post was his proud photograph on “a 2-km bridge on Mahakaliriver in Nepal”.

Asked how these constitutional officers were sent for poll campaigning with their administrative machinery on behalf of BJP,state party president Ramsewak Painkra said: “We sent only party members. I don’t how they went there…. I will have to check into it.”

Former BJP MLA and chairperson of State Finance Commission Virendra Pandey slammed the practice. “When I was the chairperson,I never attended party meetings,did not even visit the party office. It is not only unconstitutional,but also morally wrong.”

Congress leader Bhujit Doshi said: “BJP often makes mockery of Constitutional offices. Since its active leaders are unable to make an impact on voters,they are deploying these men for campaigning.”