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Journalism of Courage
The BJP Saturday released its first list of 195 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, days after a marathon meeting of the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) that was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While the Prime Minister will be contesting from Varanasi for the third time, party heavyweights like Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh have been fielded from Gandhinagar and Lucknow seats respectively.
A total of 34 Union Ministers have been nominated in the party’s first list of candidates, including Smriti Irani, who will fight from Amethi (UP) again, Jyotiraditya Scindia from Guna (Madhya Pradesh) and Sarbananda Sonowal from Dibrugarh (Assam).
But the BJP faced a surprise twist in West Bengal when Bhojpuri singer and actor Pawan Singh, nominated for the Asansol seat, announced on Sunday that he wouldn’t be contesting the elections. This came after he had initially accepted the candidacy and thanked the BJP leadership the day before.
“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,” he wrote on X.
Pawan Singh, a renowned Bhojpuri actor and singer, has appeared in numerous films, including “Pratigya,” “Dacait,” “Ziddi Aashiq,” and “Pratigya 2.”
According to his IMDB biography, he embarked on his music career in 1997 with his debut album “Odhaniya Wali,” followed by “Kaanch Kasailli” in 2005.
It was in 2008 that Singh skyrocketed to fame with his hit album “Lollypop Lagelu.” Additionally, he also won the Best Male Singer award at the International Bhojpuri Film Awards in 2016.
Sharing a post on social media yesterday the Bhojpuri actor had also thanked the BJP leadership for his nomination from Asansol.
Asansol was previously represented by former BJP leader and singer Babul Supriyo who later defected to the TMC. He had won the seat twice – in 2014 and 2019.
The seat is currently represented by actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha of the Trinamool.
Speaking to the media after the BJP announced Singh’s candidature, Shatrughan Sinha had said, “This is an internal affair of their party ( BJP). I have best wishes for everyone. Many here in Asansol believe that they (BJP) are looking out for not just themselves but for the opposition and TMC also. I congratulate them for this thinking.”
Manoj Tiwari is another prominent Bhojpuri singer and actor nominated by the saffron party for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Contesting from North East Delhi, Tiwari is the only sitting MP from the national capital who has been retained
