In three-way Karakat battle, Upendra Kushwaha goes for broke as Bhojpuri star Pawan Singh may dent NDA

Last week, the Bihar BJP expelled Pawan from the party for entering the Karakat fray as a “rebel” candidate, from where NDA heavyweight and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha is contesting.

Interestingly, Pawan had figured in the BJP’s first list of the Lok Sabha poll candidates, released in early March, when the party had fielded him from West Bengal’s Asansol. However, on the very next day he opted out of this contest against Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and film star Shatrughan Sinha amid a row over allegations that some of his songs had vulgar and demeaning references to the Bengali women. At the time, he had said he could contest from Arrah, Buxar or Karakat.

With the Karakat seat going to vote in the seventh and final phase of the polls on June 1, Pawan has stepped up his electioneering now. He draws up his campaign schedule for the day in the morning on the basis of his associates’ feedback and his supporters’ demand.

On Monday morning, Pawan sets out from Dehri for Nasriganj, where yellow flags with his poll symbol scissors are seen everywhere at his rally venue. His supporters are sporting yellow gamcha. The backdrop of the stage is yellow too.

Independent Karakat candidate and Bhojpuri singer Pawan Singh addressing a gathering at Nasriganj on Monday. (Pawan Singh/ X)

Weaving his way through the jostling crowd, with many youths trying to take selfies with him, Pawan takes to the stage. In his speech, he spells out his roadmap for the development of Karakat. “Neta nahi beta (I am not a leader but your son)” is its theme. “I am overwhelmed with your love and support,” he says. “If I am elected as your MP, I will try to generate employment, promote organic farming, set up a film industry, reopen factories at Dalmiyanagar and establish IT parks.”

Pawan’s supporters distribute pamphlets among the crowd, which lists his “20-point agenda for development”. Pawan avoids playing a singer

at his rallies lest his political avatar gets overshadowed by it. But his campaign playlist comprises his several hit songs, especially those which have been popular with youths.

An auto-rickshaw driver at Daudnagar, Santosh Kumar Yadav says: “Pawan Singh does have youth following but eventually it will boil down to caste.”

On his part, former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha, 64, who broke up with JD(U) supremo and Chief Minister Nitish Kumr last year to float his new outfit, seems to be fighting the battle for his political survival.

In his long political career, Kushwaha has seen several ups and downs. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, his then party Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) had won all three seats it contested in Bihar as an NDA ally. He had himself won from Karakat then. He has since repeatedly switched his loyalties between the NDA and the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan coalitions.

In the 2019 polls, when he was the Mahagathbandhan’s ally, Kushwaha lost the Karakat seat at the hand of the JD(U)’s Mahabali Singh by 84,542 votes. When he merged the RLSP with the JD (U) to retun to the party in 2021, he drew criticism from a section of his Kushwaha (OBC) community which was upset with his bid to dismantle the party.

This time, back with the BJP-led NDA, Kushwaha has managed to get only one seat, Karakat, from the BJP. He has put all his might to clinch the seat in a bid to keep himself afloat in state politics as a key face of his community. With the BJP having elevated Samrat Choudhary, a Kushwaha leader, to the posts of the state party president as well as Deputy CM, and with the Opposition INDIA bloc (Mahagathbandhan at the state level) fielding seven Kushwaha candidates now, Upendra Kushwaha’s task seems to be cut out.

Later in the day on Monday, in another part of the constituency, Upendra Kushwaha is reaching out to people on foot. Having walked for several kilometres, he is now crossing a market in Obra town briskly, his hands folded. Unlike Pawan’s high-voltage campaign, he believes in conventional canvassing. He also stops at times for some selfie requests. A little later, a shopkeeper says in a lighter vein, “I had kept a chair with three legs for Kushwaha ji,” apparently pointing to a three-cornered tight contest in Karakat.

Speaking to The Indian Express while walking, Kushwaha says, “I believe in people-to-people contact,”adding that “My top priorities include the opening of central schools and the setting up of a big railways factory at Dalmiyanagar, a project which I had pursued as Karakat MP between 2014 and 2019.”

On whether he is getting the backing of his senior NDA allies, the BJP and the JD(U), Kushwaha says, “Of course, we are getting support from all allies. We just had PM Modi’s public meeting here. CM Nitish Kumar also campaigned here.”

Kushwaha refrains from mentioning Pawan, who may especially cut into the NDA votes. “The battle is not tough but important because we have to win maximum seats to form a strong NDA government under Narendra Modi,” he says.

The voters of the Karakat seat comprise about 3.25 lakh Yadavs, 2.40 lakh Kushwahas, 1.5 lakh Rajputs, 1 lakh Brahmins, 80,000 Bhumihars, 70,000 Paswans, and 1.5 lakh voters from the Ravidas community.

The constituency encompasses the Nokha, Dehri, Karakat, Goh, Obra and Nabinagar Assembly segments.

The INDIA alliance has fielded the CPI (ML) Liberation’s Raja Ram Singh, who also belongs to the Kushwaha community. His campaign has focused mainly on rural belts.

A shopkeeper at Obra market, Rajesh Kumar, says: “CPI (ML)L has a devoted cadre in the area. Who knows, Raja Ram may benefit from the clash between Upendra Kushwaha and Pawan Singh. It is a very tough call. Modi magic alone can save Kushwaha.”

Pawan Singh, who belongs to the upper-caste Rajput community, believes he can blur caste lines as an artiste. He started his music career as a harmonium player. His debut album “Odhaniya Wali” was released in 1997, followed by “Kaanch Kasailli” in 2005. He shot to fame with the song “Hilela Arrah district” that gave him a cult status among Bhojpuri music fans.