Bhojpuri singer Pawan Singh meets Upendra Kushwaha ahead of Bihar polls

New Delhi: Bhojpuri actor and singer Pawan Singh on Tuesday met BJP ally and Rashtriya Lok Morcha president Upendra Kushwaha, in what is being seen as NDA's bid to iron out wrinkles in its social alliance ahead of Bihar assembly elections.

Singh was accompanied by BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde and party secretary Rituraj Sinha when he met Kushwaha at his residence here. Tawde is the BJP's organisational in-charge in Bihar.

Singh was instrumental in Kushwaha's defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, when he contested as an independent from Karakat seat.

The meeting was apparently aimed at placating Kushwaha, a Rajya Sabha member, amid the possibility of Singh contesting the upcoming assembly polls.

Later, Tawde told reporters that Singh is with the BJP and will actively work for the NDA in the upcoming elections.

Kushwaha has blessed him, Tawde said.

A BJP member, the popular Bhojpuri singer was first fielded from Asansol in West Bengal in 2024 but the party nudged him to withdraw following allegations that his music video and songs depicted Bengali women in a vulgar manner.

After the party refused to field him from Bihar, Singh, a Rajput, contested from Karakat seat as an independent. A section of upper castes, especially Rajputs, rallied behind him, drawing backlash from Kushwahas in the region and causing the BJP-led NDA to lose a few seats.

Kushwaha himself came third in the seat won by the CPI(ML).