BJP’s Asansol Candidate Pawan Singh Withdraws from Lok Sabha Elections, Cites Inability to Contest

In a surprising turn of events for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bhojpuri actor and playback singer Pawan Singh has decided not to contest the Lok Sabha election from Asansol in West Bengal, just a day after the party had declared him as their candidate for the constituency.

Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Singh addressed BJP president JP Nadda, expressing his inability to participate in the elections due to undisclosed reasons. Despite this setback, Singh conveyed his sincere appreciation to the BJP leadership for their trust in him and for nominating him as the candidate for Asansol.

The announcement came following the BJP’s release of its highly anticipated first list of 195 candidates for the upcoming parliamentary polls. Singh, renowned for his contributions to the Bhojpuri music and film industry, including the popular track “Lollipop Lagelu,” was slated to contest against the incumbent TMC MP and veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha.

Originally from Arrah in Bihar, Singh enjoys a substantial fan following and is often referred to as the “Power Star” of the Bhojpuri Industry owing to his significant musical achievements.

Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has yet to unveil its candidate for the Asansol constituency. Had Singh agreed to run and Sinha been renominated, it could have set the stage for an intriguing electoral battle between two candidates with roots in Bihar.

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Notably, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP’s Babul Supriyo clinched victory in Asansol, defeating TMC’s Moon Moon Sen. However, Supriyo later resigned from the seat and joined the TMC, paving the way for Sinha’s subsequent election to the Lok Sabha from Asansol in 2022.

In a further nod to the entertainment industry’s influence in politics, the BJP also announced three other Bhojpuri actors as candidates: Manoj Tiwari for North-east Delhi, Ravi Kishan for Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, and Dinesh Lal Yadav alias Nirahua for Azamgarh, all of whom are incumbent MPs.

The BJP’s initial list of candidates covers 20 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, indicating the party’s strategic focus on the state in the upcoming elections.