NEW DELHI: Popular Bhojpuri singer of ‘Lollypop Lagelu’ fame on Sunday informed that he’ll not be contesting the Lok Sabha elections.
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The singer, picked by the BJP as its candidate from the Asansol seat in West Bengal, made the announcement in a post on Twitter.
Singer Pawan Singh tweeted, “I express my heartfelt gratitude to the top leadership of Bharatiya Janata Party.
The party trusted me and declared me as the candidate from West Bengal’s Asansol but due to some reason, I will not be able to contest the elections from Asansol…”
While he refrained from elucidating on why he took the decision to step back, his candidacy had faced criticism from the ruling TMC in West Bengal. The TMC contended that many of his songs were explicit and portrayed women, particularly those from the state, in an offensive manner.
In an apparent move to mitigate the controversy, the BJP encouraged Singh to withdraw from the elections, especially considering the party’s focus on targeting the TMC leadership on the Sandeshkhali row.
Asansol’s current representative is the veteran actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha, an incumbent MP from the TMC. While TMC is yet to announce its candidate, BJP had hoped that Singh could serve as a potent opposition to Sinha, who remained a prominent member of the saffron party for many years before parting ways in 2019.
Responding to Pawan Singh’s candidature, Shatrughan Sinha had remarked, “This is an internal affair of their party ( BJP). I have best wishes for everyone. Many here in Asansol believe that they (BJP) are looking out for not just themselves but for the opposition and TMC also. I congratulate them for this thinking.”
Popularly known as Bhojpuri industry’s power star, Pawan boasts a diverse musical portfolio and is known for chart-toppers like ‘Raja Ji’, ‘Hari Hari Odhni’ and ‘Lollypop Lagelu’. He was amongst BJP’s list of popular Bhojpuri actors picked by the BJP to contest the Lok Sabha elections, along with Manoj Tiwari,
Ravi Kishan and Dinesh Lal Yadav.
