After Facing Backlash, BJP's Asansol Nominee Pawan Singh Withdraws
After being heavily criticised for his misogynistic content and controversial personal life, BJP”s Asansol candidate Bhojpuri actor-singer Pawan Singh withdrew from contesting in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“I express my heartfelt gratitude to the top leadership of Bharatiya Janata Party. The party trusted me and declared me as the candidate from Asansol but due to some reason I will not be able to contest the elections from Asansol…,” Mr Singh wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
This comes a day after he was named in the first list of candidates announced by the party for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
भारतीय जनता पार्टी के शीर्ष नेतृत्व को दिल से आभार प्रकट करता हु।
पार्टी ने मुझ पर विश्वास करके आसनसोल का उम्मीदवार घोषित किया लेकिन किसी कारण वश में आसनसोल से चुनाव नहीं लड़ पाऊंगा…@JPNadda— Pawan Singh (@PawanSingh909) March 3, 2024
All India Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee tweeted minutes later, “The indomitable spirit and power of the people of West Bengal.
The INDOMITABLE SPIRIT AND POWER OF THE PEOPLE OF WEST BENGAL. 💪🏻#Jonogorjon https://t.co/UnF6MybwCF
— Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) March 3, 2024
Newly elected Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose also took to X and said that the Asansol candidate had backed out after facing “huge backlash” over his “sexist misogynist videos.” She also added that the BJP’s “‘nari-shakti’ call in Bengal now lies in tatters, revealed for what it is – hollow and meaningless.”
Breaking news. @AITCofficial impact! @BJP4India Asansol candidate withdraws after huge backlash on the candidate”s sexist misogynist videos. The @BJP4India“s “nari shakti” call in Bengal now lies in tatters, revealed for what it is–hollow & meaningless. https://t.co/xx0PO4rChp
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) March 3, 2024
A massive controversy was triggered after the Bhojpuri singer’s candidacy was announced after several people criticised the “inappropriate and objectionable references” to Bengali women in his music. Notably, Singh also has a stained personal life with allegations of domestic violence among others.
According to a News 18 report, Pawan Singh had withdrawn from contesting the polls, citing family reasons. Babul Supriyo, former BJP member who had won the Asansol seat in 2014 and 2019 general elections and later switched to TMC, claimed that Singh was pressured by the BJP to withdraw after scrutiny over the singer”s past.
In the year 2022, TMC MP Shatrughan Sinha secured the seat from Asansol constituency in the Lok Sabha elections. On Saturday, the actor-turned-politician urged JP Nadda, BJP National President, to relieve him of his political duties. Prior to Sinha’s announcement, cricketer Gautam Gambhir had made a similar appeal to Nadda due to his cricket commitments.
