Asansol BJP candidate Pawan Singh declines to contest Lok Sabha polls

New Delhi: Bhojpuri singer-actor Pawan Singh and Asansol BJP candidate Pawan Singh declines to contest Lok Sabha polls.

In a post on X, Singh thanked the BJP leadership for his candidature but added that he will not be able to contest from Asansol "due to some reason".

भारतीय जनता पार्टी के शीर्ष नेतृत्व को दिल से आभार प्रकट करता हु।

पार्टी ने मुझ पर विश्वास करके आसनसोल का उम्मीदवार घोषित किया लेकिन किसी कारण वश में आसनसोल से चुनाव नहीं लड़ पाऊंगा…@JPNadda

— Pawan Singh (@PawanSingh909) March 3, 2024

Though he did not specify the reason behind his decision, his candidature had drawn criticism from the TMC, which is in power in West Bengal, which alleged that many of his songs were crude and depicted women, including those from the state, in a vulgar way.

Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee says it was a result of "the indomitable spirit and power of the people of West Bengal".

Asansol is home to a sizeable migrant population, and the BJP had hoped that Singh would be an effective counter to Sinha, the actor-politician who was in the saffron party for decades before walking out in 2019.

The BJP apparently decided to nudge Singh to step aside from the contest to defuse the controversy, more so when the party has seized on the Sandeshkhali row to go after the TMC leadership.

Many women in Sandeshkhali have accused suspended TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh and his associates of sexual assault and land grabbing. Sheikh and many of his cronies have been arrested.