BJP expels Bhojpuri actor Pawan Singh for 'anti-party' move

Bhojpuri actor Pawan Singh was expelled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on May 22 for contesting as an independent candidate against Upendra Kushwaha, the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) candidate in the Karakat Lok Sabha seat in Bihar.

The BJP claimed that his decision was “anti-party” and that it went against the party’s principles and tarnished the party’s reputation.

Remarkably, Pawan Singh’s mother, Pratima Devi, had previously entered the electoral fray from the same Karakat constituency but later withdrew her candidature on May 14.

Besides Kushwaha, a former Union Minister and chief of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, Mahagathbandhan’s Rajaram Singh and AIMIM’s Priyanka Chaudhary are contesting for the south Bihar seat.

"If someone contests elections against the party, then naturally the party takes action," stated Samrat Chaudhary, Deputy CM of Bihar.

Some BJP leaders, notably union minister RK Singh, who is seeking reelection from the neighbouring Arrah Lok Sabha constituency, criticised Pawan Singh's decision to contest against the NDA nominee.

Karakat will participate in the seventh and last phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections on June 1.