Bhojpuri singer and actor Pawan Singh, who had earlier refused to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Asansol seat in West Bengal offered by the BJP, on Thursday filed his nomination papers as an Independent candidate from Karakat seat in Bihar.
With the official entry of Mr. Singh in the election, the contest in the seat in Rohtas district has turned into a triangular contest as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has fielded former Union Minister and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) leader Upendra Kushwaha and the Grand Alliance has fielded Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) candidate Rajaram Singh.
He submitted the nomination at the district headquarters collectorate in Sasaram to Returning Officer and District Magistrate of Rohtas District, Naveen Kumar. The Rohtas district administration sweated it out as they had to control a large crowd of thousands of people gathered there to catch a glimpse of the celebrity.
On March 2, the BJP had announced the names of 20 candidates in West Bengal that included the name of Mr. Singh. His candidature had triggered strong reactions and outrage in political circles over the content created by the singer and songs allegedly denigrating Bengali women.
On April 10, he had announced that he would contest from Karakat seat in Bihar and since then, Mr. Singh has continuously been campaigning in the area. Before filing the nomination, he visited the famous Pilot Baba Ashram to offer prayers.
Mr. Singh, hailing from Ara in Bhojpur district of Bihar, was expecting a Lok Sabha ticket from Ara itself. However, the constituency was retained by sitting BJP MP R.K. Singh.
On May 7, when Mr. Kushwaha went to attend the nomination of Mr. R K Singh in Ara, he was asked about Mr. Pawan Singh to which he had replied that the Bhojpuri star’s popularity was limited only to social media and mobile phones and that nobody was talking about him at the ground level. Mr. Kushwaha had won the seat in 2014 and became Union Minister as part of the NDA.
In 2019, Karakat seat was won by Janata Dal (United) candidate Mahabali Singh who has been dropped this time and the seat has gone to Mr. Kushwaha.
Karakat will vote in the seventh phase on June 1. The seat comprises six Assembly segments — Nokha, Dehri-On-Sone, Karakat, Goh, Obra and Nabinagar — with four constituencies falling under Rohtas district and two in Aurangabad district.
Before filing the nomination, BJP leader and Labour Resources Minister Santosh Kumar Singh had appealed the singer not to stand in the elections from Karakat seat.
