Except Puri, Alphons, babus-turned-politicians win for BJP

New Delhi, May 24: Most of the bureaucrats-turned-politicians barring two won their respective Lok Sabha seats representing the ruling BJP.

Among those who emerged winners are Union ministers R K Singh, Satya Pal Singh and Arjun Ram Meghwal. But two former officers and now Union ministers -- Hardeep Singh Puri and K J Alphons -- were not that lucky.

While Puri, a former officer of Indian Foreign Service, lost from Punjab's Amritsar to Congress's Gurjeet Singh Aujla by a margin of 99,626 votes; Alphons, a former IAS officer, came third in Kerala's Ernakulam.

The seat was won by Congress's Hibi Eden. Both Puri, Minister of State (Independent charge) for Housing and Urban Affairs, and Union Minister of State for Tourism Alphons are Rajya Sabha members.

R K Singh, a former IAS officer of Bihar cadre who retired as Union Home Secretary, won from Bihar's Arrah constituency by a margin of over 1.47 lakh votes. The sitting MP is Minister of State (Independent) for Power.

His ministerial colleague Satya Pal Singh, a former IPS officer, worked in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and as Mumbai Police Commissioner among others. He defeated Rashtriya Lok Dal's Jayant Chaudhary by a margin of 23,502 votes in Uttar Pradesh Baghpat constituency.

Singh, also a sitting Lok Sabha member from the seat, holds multiple portfolios as a Minister of State. IAS-turned-politican Meghwal won from Rajasthan's Bikaner constituency.

He is Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. Among the other winners is Brijendra Singh, son of union steel minister Chaudhary Birender Singh, who had left Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and joined BJP.

He defeated Jannayak Janta Party's Dushyant Chautala by a margin of 3.14 lakh votes in Haryana's Hisar. Vishnu Dayal Ram, a former IPS officer, won from Jharkhand's Palamau by defeating Rashtriya Janata Dal's Ghuran Ram by a margin of 4.77 lakh votes.

PTI