Why Bhojpuri singer Pawan Singh declined the BJP ticket in West Bengal
BJP leaders familiar with the matter said that Singh’s withdrawal had to do with the party’s clear stand over the Sandeshkhali incident.
Soon after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its list for the Lok Sabha elections, all eyes turned to West Bengal — the scene of an intense struggle between the party in power at the Centre and the ruling party in the state, Trinamool Congress (TMC). Pawan Singh, a Bihar-born Bhojpuri singer-turned-actor, was given a ticket by the BJP from Asansol, where the current MP is another Bollywood actor from Bihar and TMC member, Shatrughan Sinha.
Had things been different, Singh had a shot at being a first-time MP.
However, the very next day, he declined the ticket. BJP leaders familiar with the matter said that Singh’s withdrawal had to do with the party’s clear stand over the Sandeshkhali incident. Women in the village in North 24 Parganas district’s Basirhat subdivision have accused TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan and some associates of sexual abuse and the leaders of the party of land grab. Shahjahan has since been expelled from the TMC and arrested.
BJP leaders reportedly urged Singh to withdraw from the race to mitigate controversy, especially as the party has used the Sandeshkhali incident to target TMC leaders. So, what is the controversy that the party’s leaders were eager to fend off?
Asansol has a significant migrant population — including from Bihar — and the BJP had hoped that Singh would be their counter to Shatrughan Sinha, the actor-politician who left the BJP in 2019.
Party leaders, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that Singh had been preparing to contest the elections for the last six months and had his eyes on three constituencies including Ara (his home district), Maharajganj near Chhapra, and Ballia (where his wife’s parents live). Instead, he got the ticket for the Asansol constituency in West Bengal.
However, Singh, who has been an actor in the Bhojpuri films since 2007, is no stranger to controversies.
The nephew of folk singer Ajit Singh who hails from Jokahari village in Ara district, Singh lost his father in childhood and was initiated into music by his uncle. He started his career as an accompanist. Soon he began to hold performances, voicing Bhojpuri lyrics on the stage, in rural areas of Bhojpur, the original name of Ara district. He also recorded Bhojpuri songs for music albums — the lyrics, as is common in most popular folk songs, were racy.
However, it was his 2008 album Lollipop Lagelu that brought him attention from the non-Bhojpuri-speaking world. Probably the racy lyrics and naughty mood of the composition had appealed to the Bhojpuri music lovers all over and the song turned out to be a huge hit.
Interestingly, the song Lollipop Laagelu also landed him in hot soup. There were sharp reactions, charging him with promoting vulgarity and obscenity. His later Bhojpuri albums which were released between 2008 and 2023, had numbers like Bangal Wali Maal, Bangal Sei Liyayem Sautaniya, Bangal Ke Paani and Kalkatiya Raja that were popular, but considered ribald by many. However, these songs propelled him to being the highest-paid Bhojpuri singer, reportedly charging lakhs for a stage show.
“He doesn't bother about the lyrics. Though these are often considered vulgar and crass, these have given him good business. There have been huge sales of these albums. These are the numbers which have made him a superstar in the Bhojpuri music world,” said Anup Kumar, a Bhojpuri lyricist.
The Bhojpuri singer started his career in Bhojpuri films in 2007, but it was his second film Pratigya, released in 2008, which made him widely popular.
Pawan Singh's first wife, Neelam, died by suicide in their Mumbai flat in 2015, six months after their wedding. Later, Singh was in a relationship with his co-star Akshara Singh, with whom he had acted in many films. However, in 2018, Singh married Jyoti Singh, a woman with no background in films, and who hailed from Ballia. A few months later, Akshara Singh filed an FIR accusing the actor of defaming her and posting vulgar pictures of her as well as videos on the internet. Singh filed for divorce at the family court in Ara in 2021. While he said that he was not happy, his wife accused him of physical and mental torture. However, the two reconciled and remained married.
(With inputs from Vijay Swaroop)
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