Rajeshwar Singh, who last month opted for voluntary retirement as the ED’s joint director, has been fielded by the BJP as the Sarojini Nagar candidate from Lucknow – which will go to the polls in the fourth phase on February 23. The party, which first won the seat in 2017, denied incumbent MLA Swati Singh a ticket to accommodate Singh.

As an ED officer, Singh was part of several high-profile investigations such as those into the 2G, coal “scam” and Commonwealth cases, besides the Aircel-Maxis case, in which former union minister P Chidambaram was jailed. Singh tells Newslaundry about why he decided to quit bureaucracy to join politics, and if it is ethical for officers to take the political plunge ahead of elections. We also spoke to his challenger and SP leader Abhishek Mishra, and Swati Singh.

Watch.