The popular Bhojpuri actor Pawan Singh will challenge Upendra Kushwaha in the Lok Sabha elections from Bihar’s Karakat

Pawan Singh, an actor and singer from Bhojpur, declared his intention to run for the Karakat constituency in Bihar in the next Lok Sabha elections. Upendra Kushwaha, the NDA candidate and leader of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, will be his opponent in the election. This occurs one month after Singh said he will not run for the Asansol seat in West Bengal. He was originally included on the list of candidates put forth by the BJP for the next general elections.

Why did Singh choose not to run from Asansol?
The TMC had criticised his candidature, claiming that some of his songs were obscene and crudely represented women, particularly those from Bengal. He had not given a reason for his decision to not run from Asansol. In the 2014 Lok Sabha, he was fielded by the BJP against actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, an Asansol-based MP for the Trinamool Congress.

The Bhojpuri actor had, nonetheless, said that he would stand for election in order to keep his word to his mother. Singh posted on his X Twitter account last month, saying, “I will fight the elections to fulfil the promise I made to my mother, my society, and the people.”

Bihar’s NDA seat-sharing scheme
On March 18, the leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar declared seat sharing in the state. Thirteen Lok Sabha seats are up for grabs: seventeen by the BJP, sixteen by JD (U), five by LJP (Ram Vilas), and one each of Hindustani Awam Morcha and Rashtriya Lok Morcha. Paschim Champaran, Purvi Champaran, Aurangabad, Madhubani, Araria, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Maharajganj, Saran, Ujiarpur, Begusarai, Nawada, Patna Sahib, Pataliputra, Arrah, Buxar, and Sasaram are among the 17 seats that the Bharatiya Janata Party will run for.

Bihar will cast ballots in each of the seven Lok Sabha election phases:
Aurangabad, Gaya, Nawada, and Jamui comprise Phase 1.
Phase 2: Banka, Bhagalpur, Purnia, Katihar, and Kishanganj
Phase 3: Khagaria, Madhepura, Araria, Supaul, and Jhanjharpur
Phase 4: Begusarai, Munger, Samastipur, Ujiarpur, and Darbhanga
Phase 5: Saran, Hajipur, Madhubani, Muzaffarpur, and Sitamarhi
Phase 6: Gopalganj, Siwan, Maharajganj, Sheohar, Vaishali, Paschim Champaran, Purvi Champaran, and Valmiki Nagar
Phase 7: Arrah, Buxar, Sasaram, Karakat, Jahanabad, Patana Sahib, Pataliputra, and Nalanda