Bhojpuri singer Pawan Singh meets Shah, Nadda, NDA ally Upendra Kushwaha

New Delhi: Bhojpuri actor and singer Pawan Singh on Tuesday met senior BJP leaders Amit Shah and party president J P Nadda besides their Bihar ally Upendra Kushwaha, in what is being seen as the ruling alliance's bid to iron out wrinkles in its social alliance ahead of the Bihar assembly elections.

He first met Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) president Kushwaha, who had suffered defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls due to Singh's decision to contest as an independent from Karakat. He was accompanied by BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde and party secretary Rituraj Sinha.

The meetings marked his return to the NDA fold after the split in the Lok Sabha elections. However, both sides insisted that he has remained in the BJP.

Tawde, who is the BJP's organisational in-charge of Bihar, asserted that Singh is in the BJP and will actively work for the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the state.

Singh later met Shah, who is deeply engaged in the NDA's campaign for the assembly polls expected to be held in November, and Nadda.

Singh echoed Tawde, saying he is in the BJP. He has been vocal about his ambition to contest elections and may be fielded by the NDA in the assembly polls after his defiance in the Lok Sabha polls hurt it.

Singh's meeting with Kushwaha was apparently aimed at placating the BJP ally, a Rajya Sabha member, as the saffron party works to rule out the repeat of its 2024 experience. Kushwaha has blessed him, Tawde said.

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

After the party did not 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, causing the BJP-led NDA to lose a few seats.

Kushwaha came third in the seat won by the CPI(ML) while Singh was the runner-up.

While Rajputs are considered a core voting bloc of the BJP, Kushwahas, the most numerous Other Backward Classes (OBCs) community after Yadavs, have long been seen as supporters of its ally Janata Dal (United).

However, the social alliance suffered some fractures, especially in the state's Shahabad region in the last Lok Sabha elections.