<p>One day after the BJP announced Pawan Singh as its candidate from the constituency now held by Shatrughan Sinha of the Trinamool Congress, the Bhojpuri singer-actor withdrew his candidacy from the Lok Sabha election battle from the Asansol seat in West Bengal on Sunday.</p>
<p><img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-470300″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2024_3largeimg_1415435104-750×501.jpg” alt=”” width=”1328″ height=”887″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2024_3largeimg_1415435104-750×501.jpg 750w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2024_3largeimg_1415435104-768×513.jpg 768w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2024_3largeimg_1415435104.jpg 800w” sizes=”(max-width: 1328px) 100vw, 1328px” /></p>
<p>The TMC quickly made fun of the BJP by claiming that it had given up the seat even before the election campaign officially began.</p>
<p>Singh praised the BJP leadership for supporting him in a post on X, but he also said that he would be unable to run from Asansol “due to some reason.”</p>
<p>The TMC, which rules West Bengal, had criticized his candidacy, claiming that many of his songs were filthy and portrayed women, particularly those from the state, in a nasty manner. He did not provide an explanation for his choice, however.</p>
<p>Sharing Singh’s post on X, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said, “The Indomitable Spirit and Power of the People of West Bengal.”</p>
<p>The leader of the TMC, Santanu Sen, said that while the BJP talks about empowering women, in practice they are anti-women.</p>
<p>“They had nominated him because they are anti-Bengali and anti-women.” But they had to back down when they realized how angry people were,” he continued.</p>
<p>There is a sizable migrant community in Asansol, and the BJP had anticipated that Singh would be a useful foil for actor-politician Sinha, who left the saffron party in 2019 after decades of membership.</p>
<p>Given that the BJP has used the Sandeshkhali incident to attack the TMC leadership, it seems that the party chose to gently encourage Singh to withdraw from the race in order to diffuse the tension.</p>
<p>Numerous women in Sandeshkhali have been charged with land grabbing and sexual assault by suspended TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh and his companions. Sheikh has been detained along with other of his friends.</p>
