Bhojpuri film actor-singer Pawan Singh, who was nominated as the BJP candidate for the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal on March 2, decided to withdraw his candidature within 24 hours of the announcement. This followed relentless attacks from Trinamool Congress MPs and leaders and whispers within the BJP’s state unit over his “misogynistic music videos, objectifying and denigrating Bengali women”. Pawan took to his social media handle on March 3 to express his gratitude to the BJP leadership but stated that he would not contest the LS elections from Asansol which has a significantly large Hindi-speaking electorate. He did not specify any reason for his unwillingness to contest.
Pawan Singh’s songs like Lollipop laagelu and Rajaji have been described by TMC leaders as being “misogynistic”. Singer Babul Supriyo, former Asansol MP, who was with the BJP before crossing over to the ruling TMC in West Bengal, was the first to protest against Singh’s nomination, highlighting the disrespectful portrayal of Bengali women in his songs.
With Pawan’s withdrawal, the BJP is left with three Bhojpuri film celebrities in the fray from the party. They are Manoj Tiwari (who will contest from North-East Delhi), Ravi Kishan (Gorakhpur) and Dineshlal Yadav ‘Nirahua’ (Azamgarh). All the three were BJP MPs in the just-concluded 17th Lok Sabha and will be contesting again from the same constituencies. Had Pawan Singh contested from Asansol, he would be pitted, in all probability, against another actor, Shatrughan Sinha, who had bagged the seat on a TMC ticket in a 2022 bypoll.