"Wasn't PM Modi aware of Pawan Singh's image?": Congress leader Pawan Khera

After Bhojpuri singer Pawan Singh decided not to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from Asansol, Congress leader Pawan Khera on Sunday said that on one hand, the BJP is raising the issue of the Sandeshkali incident, and on the other hand, it is fielding singers like Pawan Singh to fight polls. Pawan Singh also questioned whether Prime Minister Modi was aware of Pawan Singh's image.

"This is an interesting case. All the agencies are under the control of the PM. Wasn't he aware of Pawan Singh's image? Now he gets to know that after 24 hours. This depicts what kind of government there is in the country. All the agencies are there to keep an eye on the opposition. It is obvious now that people like Harsh Vardhan are taking retirement because this is the era of Pawan Singh," Khera told ANI. Earlier in the day, Pawan Singh announced that he would not be contesting from the Asansol Lok Sabha seat, however, he did not mention any specific reason for this move.

"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," Pawan Singh posted on X. In this regard, TMC leader Shatrughan Sinha, who also represents Asansol in the Lok Sabha, refrained from commenting and said that this is BJP's internal matter.

"The decision to contest or not to contest is the party's internal matter. I am not one to comment on this," he said. The BJP has drawn sharp criticism from the TMC after it decided to field Pawan Singh from Asansol.

TMC leader Babul Supriyo said that he has nothing against the Bhojpuri artist but his videos have multiple times insulted Bengali women. "I have nothing against him or as an artist. But in the videos and movies, particularly of a person, Bengali women are targeted, how can the BJP field such a person from Asansol. It is clear that he was asked to tweet this deliberately. It is impossible for the BJP to release its first list without talking to the candidates," he said.

Setting the pace ahead of its rivals, the BJP, on Saturday, released its first list of 195 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The list included 47 youth candidates, 28 women candidates, 27 Scheduled Caste (SC) faces, 18 Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates and 57 OBC/Backward Class nominees.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will seek a third straight term in the Lower House from Varanasi while Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who joined the BJP from the Congress in 2020, will contest from Guna in Madhya Pradesh.