As the BJP came under attack, Singh in a post on X said: “I express my heartfelt gratitude to the top leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The party trusted me and declared me as the candidate from Asansol, but due to some reason, I will not be able to contest the elections from Asansol.”
Following the development, TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale said, “Of the 42 seats in West Bengal, the BJP has already surrendered 1 seat even before elections are declared.”
Although there was no official reaction from the BJP, sources in the party said the backlash on social media and possible repercussions on its poll prospects in Asansol may have led to a rethink on fielding Singh.
Incidentally, in recent weeks the BJP had appeared to have put the ruling TMC on the backfoot over allegations of sexual harassment by its local leaders in Sandeshkhali. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also targeted the TMC over the Sandeshkhali row in his address at Arambagh on Friday.
After Singh’s candidature was announced, TMC leaders were quick to take to social media to target the BJP.
Sharing posters of songs featuring the Bhojpuri artiste, TMC spokesperson Riju Dutta posted on X: “PM @narendramodi was advocating for women in Bengal and shedding crocodile tears…Now, @BJP4India fields @PawanSingh909 from Asansol !! Some samples of Pawan Singh’s vulgar music videos disrespecting Bengal’s mothers & daughters… Bengal’s ‘Naari Shakti’ will give him a befitting reply.”
Former MP of Asansol Babul Supriyo, who switched from the BJP to the TMC, posted on X: “Asansol ko Pawan Singh ji Mubarak ho @BJP4Bengal… I have not verified it personally nor will verify them but I am flooded with posters of these films… Nothing against Pawanji the artist, but if these posters are true, then it clearly shows what kind of respect @BJP4India has for Bengal & specially for women from Bengal. Sure Honble PM sir will come to Polo Ground to campaign for him.”
Supriyo, who is currently state Tourism Minister, said Singh’s films and songs were demeaning to women. “Have always said, that 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,” the former Union minister said.
“In terms of offending Bengali women & painting them in an utterly disrespectful light in film titles & songs, Pawanji (nothing against him as an artiste, I reiterate)… is surely a repeat offender!!,” he posted.
“The first list in itself is the last nail on the coffin of BJP in Bengal. Mark my words. This nomination in itself captures the real mindset of BJP for Bengal & how much respect they have for Bengalis & Bengali women!!!… Let Bengal decide… Period,” he said.
The TMC kept targeting the BJP even after Singh withdrew from the contest. TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said Singh was forced to withdraw because of the power of the people of Bengal. “The indomitable spirit and power of the people of West Bengal,” he posted on X.
Supriyo claimed that Singh was pressured by the BJP to withdraw his name. In an X post, he said, “Pressure from @BJP4India on him to withdraw citing ‘personal reasons’ !! It’s absolutely impossible that the BJP would name a candidate in their first list without taking his consent or without a detailed discussion with the candidate!! Even today morning we had BJP defending his candidature !! Now they admit it was an insult to Bengali women & Bengali sensibilities, that BJP never ever understood in the first place.. They have been shown the mirror.”
BJP IT cell chief and party’s co-observer for Bengal Amit Malviya targeted the TMC for attacking Singh.
“TMC leaders are a bunch of jokers who have suddenly found their voice after keeping quiet for 60 days. The women raped in #Sandeshkhali were Bengali, who Mamata Banerjee called ‘Bohiragoto’. No one vilifies Bengali women more than her, as she continues to defend Sheikh Shahjahan,” he said in a post on X, referring to the TMC leader from Sandeshkhali arrested last week after 55 days on the run.
The candidature of Singh from Asansol, which lies in the coal mine belt of West Burdwan district and has a sizable migrant population, had come as a surprise nomination as the BJP opted for a fresh face. The BJP had hoped to counter the incumbent MP – TMC’s Shatrughan Sinha – with Singh, who has emerged to be a popular artiste in the Bhojpuri circuit with movies such as “Pratigya,” “Dacait,” “Ziddi Aashiq,” and “Pratigya 2”. Singh began his music career in 1997 with his debut album “Odhaniya Wali,” followed by “Kaanch Kasailli” in 2005.
Sinha, also a former BJP leader like Supriyo, won the Asansol seat on a TMC ticket in a bypoll in April 2022, beating the BJP’s Agnimitra Paul. The bypoll was conducted after the seat fell vacant due to the resignation of Supriyo, who won it twice in 2014 and 2019 for the BJP. Currently, he is the TMC MLA from south Kolkata.