Bhojpuri singer Pawan Singh, BJP's pick for Asansol, says can't contest Lok Sabha elections because...

In a major setback for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bhojpuri actor and playback singer Pawan Singh announced that he will not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from West Bengal's Asansol. The announcement came a day after the BJP released its first list of candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. 

Taking to Twitter, Singh wrote, "I express my heartfelt gratitude to the top leadership of 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."

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Babul Supriyo won the Asansol seat for the BJP by defeating TMC's Moon Moon Sen. But later he left BJP and joined TMC. In 2022, Shatrughan Sinha won from Asansol in the Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP released its list of 195 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday.