Within 24 hours after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its first list of Lok Sabha candidates, Bhojpuri artist Pawan Singh, who was on the list as the candidate from West Bengal's Asansol, announced his withdrawal from the electoral race, citing "personal reasons".
In those 24 hours, Singh faced backlash from the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal, which alleged that his songs were "vulgar, derogatory, and misogynist" and "target women of Bengal".
In the light of the debacle, The Quint talks to experts to find out why the BJP fielded Singh in the first place, why did it spark outrage, and what to expect now from the Asansol seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
BJP's Asansol Debacle: Pawan Singh Stepping Back and TMC Claiming It as Its Win
1. So, Why did the BJP Want to Field Singh?
To understand why the saffron party had chosen Singh for the ticket, it is important to understand the demographics of Asansol. Located adjacent to Jharkhand, Asansol falls in the coal belt area of West Bengal. Apart from the coal industry, there are also steel and railway industries in this belt – and as a result, it attracts many workers from Hindi-speaking states around the vicinity, like Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.
Nearly half of the more than 15 lakh voters here are Hindi speaking.
As V Sivadasan Dasu, the TMC’s Paschim Bardhaman state secretary, explained to The Quint, “Asansol has a mixed population. There are Bengalis, non-Bengalis, as well as Muslims. It is largely an industrial belt, with coal mines, and so the working class is higher in numbers."
Till 2014, Asansol used to be a Left bastion. But in 2014, the BJP proved all the equations wrong by fielding well-known singer Babul Supriyo and won this seat. To further strengthen its hold on the voters of the area, the saffron party made Supriyo, who reached the Parliament for the first time, a minister. After that, in 2019 as well, Supriyo maintained his winning streak in Asansol.
But after the BJP failed to secure victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections in 2021, Supriyo was removed from the Union Cabinet. Supposedly upset by this, he resigned from the membership of Lok Sabha after a few days and joined the TMC.
In the by-election held on this vacant seat, the TMC sprang a surprise on everyone by fielding actor Shatrughan Sinha, known as Bihari Babu. Sinha, who was once apert defeated the BJP's Agnimitra Paul by a margin of about 3 lakh votes.
A BJP source told The Quint that the saffron party had hoped Singh would be a good counter to Sinha, especially to appeal to the large Hindi-speaking and Bihari population in Asansol.
A senior leader of the party from the West Bengal unit, on the condition of anonymity, told The Quint,
"Apart from Agnimitra Paul, Pawan Singh's name was being discussed for this seat. But the central leadership of the party considered Pawan Singh's star power and Bihari workers of coal mines living in the area. Keeping this in mind, perhaps he was given preference. But the tables have now turned."
Political analyst Professor Samiran Paul told The Quint, "Pawan Singh recently said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had indicated that Shatrughan Sinha would be the party's candidate on this seat. Perhaps, the BJP felt that Singh could prove to be a match for Singh's star power."
"However, Pawan Singh did not expect that the backlash against him would be so severe. Also, in the by-election held in 2022, the drubbing that Agnimitra Paul, who was the BJP candidate from the Asansol seat, faced might have also made him reconsider. Therefore, to save his honour, he probably refused to enter the field from Asansol at least."
Expand2. Why Pawan Singh's Name Put the BJP on a Backfoot
The accusations by Sandeshkhali women against TMC strongman Shahjahan Sheikh (who has since been suspended from the party and now arrested) of sexually harassing and assaulting them have sparked a war of words between the BJP and the TMC.
Locket Chatterjee, the BJP MP from the state, had said the protests by women were spontaneous, and there was no politics in it, with the BJP only trying to “protect them and help them raise their voice.”
“Women are most unsafe in a state ruled by the country’s only woman Chief Minister,” she said.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in turn, accused the BJP of fomenting trouble in the area over the issue.
After the BJP's announcement of Singh's name, the TMC's Supriyo wrote on X, "The BJP is anti-Bengali – the fact that they didn’t give a Cabinet seat to any Bengali in the 10 years they have been in power is proof enough for that but now fielding Pawan Singh from Asansol shows their insensitivity against Bengali women."
Even TMC MP Derek O'Brien wrote on X, "PM Narendra Modi is anti-Bengali. He came here, lectured on women power and then gave ticket to someone who has vilified Bengali women."
Commenting on the debacle, Jadavpur University professor and political commentator Manojit Mandal told The Quint that Singh's candidature has the BJP in an awkward position as it was trying to put the TMC on the backfoot over sexual harassment allegations against its leaders by women in Sandeshkhali.
"The BJP was doing what the role of an Opposition is – to hold the government accountable in case of excesses committed till it decided to field such a member who has been accused of objectifying women through his songs and videos. More so, the artist has offended Bengali women as well and painted them in a disrespectful light in film titles & songs (Haseena Bangal Ke), shamed, and character assassinated them. This has put the saffron party in an awkward position and sort of taken away their legitimacy to attack the TMC."
TMC leader Sagarika Ghose on 4 March claimed Singh declined the saffron party's ticket for from Asansol because of her party's backlash over the "candidate's sexist, misogynist" videos. The BJP source told The Quint that the saffron party urged Singh to withdraw from the electoral fray to mitigate a controversy, especially since the saffron party has used the Sandeshkhali incident to target TMC leaders.
Expand3. Is This a Win For the TMC?
Pawan Singh's decision to withdraw from the Lok Sabha elections 2024 race drew immediate cheer from the TMC.
TMC leader Babul Supriyo told The Quint,
"I feel the BJP has forced Singh to withdraw his candidature to save their face due to the backlash it received after releasing the first list where Singh's name featured."
“The BJP felt that Singh would match Shatrughan Sinha and woo the Hindi-speaking voters of Asansol. However, they have no knowledge of Asansol and have scant respect and regard for the state. It proves that BJP's dearth of candidates and leadership in West Bengal,” he claimed.
The TMC's General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, too, posted on X that it displayed "the indomitable spirit and power of the people of West Bengal".
Meanwhile, on Monday, 4 March, Singh said "time would tell" if he would contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Talking to the media after meeting BJP president JP Nadda, Singh evaded questions on what made him take the decision to quit the electoral race from Asansol. However, speculations are rife that the Bihar-born singer could contest from the state.
"I talked to the party president. Whatever happens in future will be good," Singh told media after meeting Nadda. Asked if he would fight in the upcoming elections, he said, "That only time would tell."
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)
Expand
So, Why did the BJP Want to Field Singh?
To understand why the saffron party had chosen Singh for the ticket, it is important to understand the demographics of Asansol. Located adjacent to Jharkhand, Asansol falls in the coal belt area of West Bengal. Apart from the coal industry, there are also steel and railway industries in this belt – and as a result, it attracts many workers from Hindi-speaking states around the vicinity, like Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.
Nearly half of the more than 15 lakh voters here are Hindi speaking.
As V Sivadasan Dasu, the TMC’s Paschim Bardhaman state secretary, explained to The Quint, “Asansol has a mixed population. There are Bengalis, non-Bengalis, as well as Muslims. It is largely an industrial belt, with coal mines, and so the working class is higher in numbers."
Till 2014, Asansol used to be a Left bastion. But in 2014, the BJP proved all the equations wrong by fielding well-known singer Babul Supriyo and won this seat. To further strengthen its hold on the voters of the area, the saffron party made Supriyo, who reached the Parliament for the first time, a minister. After that, in 2019 as well, Supriyo maintained his winning streak in Asansol.
But after the BJP failed to secure victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections in 2021, Supriyo was removed from the Union Cabinet. Supposedly upset by this, he resigned from the membership of Lok Sabha after a few days and joined the TMC.
In the by-election held on this vacant seat, the TMC sprang a surprise on everyone by fielding actor Shatrughan Sinha, known as Bihari Babu. Sinha, who was once apert defeated the BJP's Agnimitra Paul by a margin of about 3 lakh votes.
A BJP source told The Quint that the saffron party had hoped Singh would be a good counter to Sinha, especially to appeal to the large Hindi-speaking and Bihari population in Asansol.
A senior leader of the party from the West Bengal unit, on the condition of anonymity, told The Quint,
"Apart from Agnimitra Paul, Pawan Singh's name was being discussed for this seat. But the central leadership of the party considered Pawan Singh's star power and Bihari workers of coal mines living in the area. Keeping this in mind, perhaps he was given preference. But the tables have now turned."
Political analyst Professor Samiran Paul told The Quint, "Pawan Singh recently said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had indicated that Shatrughan Sinha would be the party's candidate on this seat. Perhaps, the BJP felt that Singh could prove to be a match for Singh's star power."
"However, Pawan Singh did not expect that the backlash against him would be so severe. Also, in the by-election held in 2022, the drubbing that Agnimitra Paul, who was the BJP candidate from the Asansol seat, faced might have also made him reconsider. Therefore, to save his honour, he probably refused to enter the field from Asansol at least."
Why Pawan Singh's Name Put the BJP on a Backfoot
The accusations by Sandeshkhali women against TMC strongman Shahjahan Sheikh (who has since been suspended from the party and now arrested) of sexually harassing and assaulting them have sparked a war of words between the BJP and the TMC.
Locket Chatterjee, the BJP MP from the state, had said the protests by women were spontaneous, and there was no politics in it, with the BJP only trying to “protect them and help them raise their voice.”
“Women are most unsafe in a state ruled by the country’s only woman Chief Minister,” she said.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in turn, accused the BJP of fomenting trouble in the area over the issue.
After the BJP's announcement of Singh's name, the TMC's Supriyo wrote on X, "The BJP is anti-Bengali – the fact that they didn’t give a Cabinet seat to any Bengali in the 10 years they have been in power is proof enough for that but now fielding Pawan Singh from Asansol shows their insensitivity against Bengali women."
Even TMC MP Derek O'Brien wrote on X, "PM Narendra Modi is anti-Bengali. He came here, lectured on women power and then gave ticket to someone who has vilified Bengali women."
Commenting on the debacle, Jadavpur University professor and political commentator Manojit Mandal told The Quint that Singh's candidature has the BJP in an awkward position as it was trying to put the TMC on the backfoot over sexual harassment allegations against its leaders by women in Sandeshkhali.
"The BJP was doing what the role of an Opposition is – to hold the government accountable in case of excesses committed till it decided to field such a member who has been accused of objectifying women through his songs and videos. More so, the artist has offended Bengali women as well and painted them in a disrespectful light in film titles & songs (Haseena Bangal Ke), shamed, and character assassinated them. This has put the saffron party in an awkward position and sort of taken away their legitimacy to attack the TMC."
TMC leader Sagarika Ghose on 4 March claimed Singh declined the saffron party's ticket for from Asansol because of her party's backlash over the "candidate's sexist, misogynist" videos. The BJP source told The Quint that the saffron party urged Singh to withdraw from the electoral fray to mitigate a controversy, especially since the saffron party has used the Sandeshkhali incident to target TMC leaders.
Is This a Win For the TMC?
Pawan Singh's decision to withdraw from the Lok Sabha elections 2024 race drew immediate cheer from the TMC.
TMC leader Babul Supriyo told The Quint,
"I feel the BJP has forced Singh to withdraw his candidature to save their face due to the backlash it received after releasing the first list where Singh's name featured."
“The BJP felt that Singh would match Shatrughan Sinha and woo the Hindi-speaking voters of Asansol. However, they have no knowledge of Asansol and have scant respect and regard for the state. It proves that BJP's dearth of candidates and leadership in West Bengal,” he claimed.
The TMC's General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, too, posted on X that it displayed "the indomitable spirit and power of the people of West Bengal".
Meanwhile, on Monday, 4 March, Singh said "time would tell" if he would contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Talking to the media after meeting BJP president JP Nadda, Singh evaded questions on what made him take the decision to quit the electoral race from Asansol. However, speculations are rife that the Bihar-born singer could contest from the state.
"I talked to the party president. Whatever happens in future will be good," Singh told media after meeting Nadda. Asked if he would fight in the upcoming elections, he said, "That only time would tell."
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)