Pawan Singh, BJP's LS Candidate for Asansol, Opts Out of Race Amid Backlash

Singh faced severe backlash following his candidature over alleged 'objectionable' references to women in his songs.

A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its first list of Lok Sabha candidates, which featured the name of Bhojpuri artist Pawan Singh from West Bengal's Asansol, the actor-singer said on Sunday, 3 March, that he was opting out of the race amid severe backlash.

"I thank the BJP leadership for trusting me and announcing my name as the candidate from Asansol, but I won't be able to contest the election for some reason," he took to X to say.

भारतीय जनता पार्टी के शीर्ष नेतृत्व को दिल से आभार प्रकट करता हु।
पार्टी ने मुझ पर विश्वास करके आसनसोल का उम्मीदवार घोषित किया लेकिन किसी कारण वश में आसनसोल से चुनाव नहीं लड़ पाऊंगा…@JPNadda

— Pawan Singh (@PawanSingh909) March 3, 2024