Bihar ex-DGP Gupteshwar Pandey, who had lashed out at actor Rhea Chakraborty during the recent Bihar-Maharashtra tussle over the probe into Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, joined Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) on Sunday, less than a week after taking voluntary retirement. He may fight the assembly polls. Pandey (59) had reminded Rhea, Rajput’s girlfriend and an accused in the case, of her “auqat” (status) to question the CM when she had hinted at politics behind Bihar pushing for a CBI probe.

“I was influenced by the working style of Nitish Kumar. So I decided to join the party,” Pandey told reporters after stepping out of the CM’s residence. On whether he would contest the upcoming election, he said, “It is not for me to decide. Now, I am a disciplined sepoy of JD(U). Whatever decision the party brass takes, I will follow. Onus is on them to use my services.”

The 1987-batch IPS officer, whose application for VRS five months ahead of his scheduled retirement was approved on September 22, is tipped to get a JD(U) ticket to contest a seat either in his native Buxar or the neighbouring Bhojpur district.

Pandey could also be considered for the Valmikinagar LS seat that fell vacant after the death of JD(U) MP Baidyanath Prasad Mahto, a senior party functionary said.

While the ex-DGP’s plunge into politics didn’t surprise anyone, he had played his cards close to his chest until Saturday, when he met Nitish to “thank him for his support” and claimed that they “didn’t discuss anything political”. Even in his uniformed avatar, Pandey’s persona seemed designed for a future in Bihar politics. The day he retired, a Bhojpuri music video portraying him as “Bihar’s Robinhood” and “Janata ka hero” had gone viral on social media.

Weeks before applying for VRS, Pandey had lashed out at the municipal authorities in Mumbai for quarantining Patna SP Vinay Tiwari, whom he had deputed to head the investigation into the abetment case filed by Sushant’s father K K Singh against Rhea.