From collector to candidate, Meghwal has come a long way

JAIPUR: In December 2008, during the assembly elections, the then district collector of Churu, Arjun Meghwal, was accused by Congress to be working hand-in-glove with the BJP and was transferred midway through the polls. In March 2009, he was announced as the BJP candidate for the Lok Sabha seat from Bikaner.
Ask the former bureaucrat about the shift to politics, he says, "I had five years left in the service and post retirement, I wanted to be active.Hence I thought of taking the gamble and decided to contest. Putting in my papers on March 3, I joined the election fray."
Mincing no words, he says that the 2008 episode did win him sympathizers in the BJP and when Lok Sabha elections were announced, he was called by former chief minister Vasundhara Raje and the BJP's state president Om Mathur who asked him if he would contest the elections from Bikaner, a seat reserved for Scheduled Caste candidate post delimitation. "It was a pleasant surprise. I was born and brought up in Kishni Deri village, which is barely five kilometers from Bikaner. Since I am an SC, the BJP thought I would fit as a candidate," he says.
This law graduate, an IAS officer of 2006 batch, is unruffled by the fact that Bollywood actor Dharmendra, the last BJP MP from the constituency, was hugely unpopular with the people as he visited them just three times in his five-year tenure.
"I would not comment on what Dharmendra did or what he could not do. I'll contest on local issues and if elected, I would like to improve the drinking water facilities and raise the infrastructure," says Meghwal.
A believer in the BJP's Hindutva policies, he feels the party stands for Indian culture and for the same is often described as a communal party. The former collector is all set for the big fight and is not deterred by his rival Rewat Ram Panwar's experience in electoral politics. "I feel being a politician does not give you any advantage. I have the basic skills of organization and administration that will work in my favour. I am sure I'll be able to handle elections well, use my skills and emerge winner."