On 10 March 2022, as the election results of five states were being declared, the winning candidate of Kannauj Sadar assembly seat in Kannauj district of Uttar Pradesh was seen cleaning up the mess at the counting site and greeting his party workers. Soon after, he reached the house of the defeated candidate Anil Dohra and took his blessings with folded hands. He then gave a statement in which he said that election is a competition in which one loses and the other wins, and, therefore, the winner should always respect the loser.
By now, you must be eager to know who is this candidate who was showing so much respect for everyone and trying to start a new culture in politics?
He is former IPS officer and BJP candidate from Kannauj Sadar seat, Asim Arun, who won the election by defeating SP candidate Anil Dohre. He resigned from his job, took VRS, and joined BJP just before this UP Assembly elections. While everyone is praising Mr. Arun for his nice gesture, rumours are rife that he might be inducted in designated CM Yogi Adityanath’s Cabinet which will take oath after Holi.
WHO IS ASIM ARUN?
51-year-old Asim Arun hails from Kannauj and belongs to a well-educated Dalit family. He is a 1994-batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre. His father Late Shri Ram Arun was DGP of Uttar Pradesh twice, and was a very famous IPS officer and counted in the flamboyant IPS list of the state. Asim Arun’s mother Late Shashi Arun was a well-known writer. His brother Rashmi Arun Shami is the Principal Secretary of School Education in Madhya Pradesh. He did his early education from St. Francis College, Lucknow and did his B.Sc from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. Mr. Arun tried his hand in Civil Services because of his father, who wanted to see him become an IPS officer like himself. After joining the Indian Police Service, he served as Superintendent of Police and Deputy Inspector General of Police in Hathras, Balrampur, Siddharthnagar, Agra, Aligarh and Gorakhpur. He also took charge of Lucknow ATS and was the Additional Director General of Police (ADG) in UP 112.
Born on 3 October, 1970, in Badaun, Mr. Arun is commando-trained and was the Close Security In-charge of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Be it Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) or Modern Control Room of 112, he served to the best of his capability. Over the years, he had gradually become the backbone of the UP Police.
Mr. Arun took VRS and retired from the post of Kanpur Police Commissioner in February this year before joining politics and BJP. He took over the responsibility of Kanpur Police Commissioner in March last year. Earlier, Asim Arun was appointed as the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) Chief. Due to his fearless attitude and good performance, he was included in the security squad of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In that, he was the head of the close protection team of SPG. Apart from this, he has also served in SPG, NSG and CBI.
BRAVE AND FLAMBOYANT
His bravery and flamboyance have always been the talk of the town. But, at the same, he is very humble and common people could reach him easily. His bravery came to the fore when he was in UP ATS and had got information that Saifullah, a terrorist of ISIS, a resident of KDA Colony, Kanpur, was hiding in Lucknow, trying to carry out some major incident. He surrounded and killed the terrorist in Thakurganj area along with ATS commandos.
In UP, a SWAT team was formed for counter-terrorist and dangerous missions. Each commando in this team is equipped with large and modern weapons. The credit for starting this team also goes to IPS officer Asim Arun. During his posting in Aligarh in 2009, he had formed the country’s first district level Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT). After this, while serving as DIG in Agra, he started this team there as well.
HIS ELECTION CAMPAIGN
Aseem Arun contested elections leaving his IPS job and defeated Samajwadi Alliance candidate Anil Kumar Dohre by 6362 votes. Mr. Arun got 120555 votes while his rival Anil Kumar Dohre got 114193 votes. Before plunging into politics, in a statement posted on social media, Arun Asim said that he wanted to serve the country and the nation in a new form. He said he would try and utilise his skills and experience in the police force to serve the people again in this new way. He also paid a tribute to B.R Ambedkar for the trajectory of his career, in a subtle acknowledgement of his caste background as a Dalit.
He said, “The IPS job and now this honour was only possible due to the system crafted by Babasaheb Ambedkar for ‘equality of opportunity’. I will follow his high ideals and work for the honour, security and uplift of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as well as brothers and sisters of all sections.”
He also shared his views on serving the nation and society during his entire campaign. On the campaign trail, he had said that he has an exhaustive background in government services and though he had taken to politics only a few months back,he will work on all issues step by step.
