West Bengal: BJP’s Pawan Singh pulls out of elections, TMC mocks decision

A day after the BJP named him as its Lok Sabha candidate from Asansol constituency in West Bengal currently represented by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP and actor Shatrughan Sinha, Bhojpuri singer-actor Pawan Singh withdrew his name from the contest on Sunday.

The TMC was quick to mock the BJP, saying it had surrendered the seat even before the election campaign had begun.

In a post on X, Singh thanked the BJP leadership for his candidature, but added that he would not be able to contest from Asansol “due to some reason”.

Though he did not specify the reason behind his decision, his candidature had drawn criticism from the TMC, the party in power in West Bengal, which alleged that many of Singh’s songs were crude and depicted women, including those from the state, in a vulgar way.