BJP suspends singer Pawan Singh for contesting as an independent against NDA candidate

Pawan Singh had earlier rejected a BJP ticket from Asansol in West Bengal

New Delhi:

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday suspended Bhojpuri actor and singer Pawan Singh from the party for contesting as an independent candidate against an NDA candidate in the Lok Sabha elections.

Mr. Singh, who had earlier rejected a BJP ticket from Asansol in West Bengal, is contesting elections from the Karakat Lok Sabha seat in Bihar. Former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha, who leads the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, is contesting as the NDA candidate from the South Bihar constituency.

“You are contesting the Lok Sabha elections against the official candidate of the NDA. Your act is against the party and has tarnished the image of the party and violated party discipline,” the Bihar unit of the BJP said in a letter to Mr Singh.

“The decision to suspend you was taken by Bihar BJP president Samrat Chaudhary,” the statement added.

Besides him, Mr Singh’s mother Pratima Singh has also filed nomination paper from the same seat as an independent candidate.

Karakat constituency will vote in the seventh and final phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections on June 1.

“Fulfill vows”

Pawan Singh has said that he is contesting the Lok Sabha elections to fulfill the promise he made to his mother.

“I will fight the elections to fulfill the promise I made to my mother, my society and the people,” he said on March 13

He was fielded by the BJP against actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha, the sitting Trinamool Congress MP from Asansol.

Mr Singh had not given the reason for his withdrawal as his candidature had faced criticism from the Trinamool Congress. The party had alleged that some of his songs were crude and portrayed women, including those from West Bengal, in a vulgar manner.