BJP suspends Bhojpuri actor Pawan Singh for challenging NDA candidate

New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday suspended from the party the Bhojpuri actor and singer Pawan Singh for contesting Lok Sabha polls independently against an NDA candidate, NDTV reported.

Singh is contesting for the Karakat Lok Sabha seat in Bihar after turning down the party ticket for Asansol in West Bengal.

Upendra Kushwaha , who is the Rashtriya Lok Morcha leader and former Union minister, is the NDA candidate for the south Bihar constituency.

The letter by BJP’s Bihar unit to Singh read: "You are contesting the Lok Sabha elections against the official candidate of the NDA. This act of yours is against the party and has tarnished the party's image and violated party discipline."

The decision to suspend Singh, according to the letter, was taken by Bihar BJP president Samrat Chaudhary.

Meanwhile, Singh’s mother Pratima Singh too is contesting as an independent candidate for the same constituency.

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

Expressing his unwillingness to contest for Asansol, Pawan Singh reportedly posted on X earlier, saying: "I will fight the elections to fulfill the promise I made to my mother, my society, and the people."

He was to fight against the sitting Trinamool Congress MP from Asansol and actor, Shatrughan Sinha.

Singh did not expand on the reason behind his withdrawal.

Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress called his songs crude, alleging that they depicted women, including those from West Bengal, in a vulgar way.