BJP expels Bhojpuri superstar Pawan Singh for contesting LS polls

PATNA: Bhojpuri superstar Pawan Singh was on Wednesday expelled from the BJP for “tarnishing the party’s image” by contesting Lok Sabha poll “against an authorized NDA candidate”.

Singh has entered the fray, as an Independent, in Karakat seat of Bihar, queering the pitch for ex-Union minister Upendra Kushwaha, an NDA partner who is contesting on the symbol of his Rashtriya Lok Morcha.

According to a communication issued by Arvind Sharma, the BJP’s Bihar headquarters in charge, Singh, who is a member of the party’s district executive committee in Bhojpur, has been expelled upon the directions of state president Samrat Choudhary.

In the letter of expulsion, Singh has been charged with “anti-party activities” and “indiscipline” and reprimanded for “tarnishing the party’s reputation by contesting against the NDA’s authorized candidate (adhikrit pratyashi).

Despite repeated attempts, Singh could not be reached for comments on the development.

The belated action, from the party, comes with just over a week left before voting takes place in Karakat on June 1.

Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to hold three rallies in Bihar on May 25 at as many constituencies going to polls in the final phase and one of these has been proposed in Karakat constituency.

Singh, who has been a BJP member for several years, had about a month ago turned down a party ticket from Asansol in West Bengal where fellow Bihari, actor turned politician Shatrughan Sinha, is seeking re-election as the candidate of Trinamool Congress.

Singh is understood to have chickened out after a massive controversy broke out over a number of his songs with lyrics that were allegedly misogynistic and denigrated Bengalis.