In set back to BJP, Bhojpuri singer Pawan Singh refuses to contest LS polls from Asansol

In set back to BJP, Bhojpuri singer Pawan Singh refuses to contest LS polls from Asansol

In a massive setback to the ruling BJP, it’s candidate from Asansol has refused to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from West Bengal’s Asansol constituency. Bhojpuri singer Pawan Singh, who was named by the BJP as it’s Asansol candidate, said that he will not be able to contest from Asansol due to some reasons.

“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…,” he wrote on ‘X’.

Singh, however, didn’t specify the reasons but according to sources, he wanted to contest from another constituency.

On Saturday, the BJP released its first list of 195 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls which included 20 seats in West Bengal.

The BJP’s West Bengal candidates included state president Sukanta Mazumdar from Balurghat, Nisith Pramanik from Cooch Behar, Subhas Sarkar from Bankura, Shantanu Thakur from Bongaon, Jagannath Sarkar from Ranaghat, Khagen Murmu from Maldah North, and Locket Chatterjee from Hooghly, Saumitra Khan from Bishnupur, Pawan Singh from Asansol and Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato from Purulia.

Renowned for his superhit ‘Lollipop Lagelu’ album, the Bhojpuri singer was set to face TMC’s Shatrughan Sinha.

This comes as a setback to BJP, which has set a highly ambitious target of winning all the 42 seats in TMC-ruled state. During his recent visit to West Bengal, Modi said that BJP will win all the 42 seats and reach the 370-plus target.