Ex-IAS officer Abhishek Singh (2011 batch) presently finds himself in a predicament after the Yogi government rejected his request and advised the Centre not to reinstate him into the IAS after a failed attempt to enter politics.
Mr. Singh was removed from the post of an observer during the 2022 Gujarat Assembly election after a picture of him posing beside a government vehicle went viral on the internet. In October 2023, he resigned from the service, citing “personal reasons.” Many speculations regarding his decision to quit bureaucracy arose as the timing of his abrupt decision coincided with the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The former IAS officer was seen participating in various poll-related events in UP’s Jaunpur.
Following his departure from bureaucracy, Mr. Singh was also seen in a music video with actress Sunny Leone and promoting it with her on Bigg Boss 17 hosted by Salman Khan. However, other than this, he failed to get a big break in Bollywood which might have led him towards the political arena. It was speculated then that he might enter politics and was eyeing a Lok Sabha ticket as he invited BJP state president Bhupendra Chaudhary to one of his programmes.
Mr. Singh now wants to return to bureaucracy and has approached the central government, but the Yogi Adityanath-led UP government has turned out to be a huge roadblock as they have written to the Centre stating that the application for Abhishek Singh’s return to his job should be rejected.