BJP Will Take Action If Pawan Singh Contests Against NDA Nominee: Minister

Union Minister R K Singh on Thursday sought action against Bhojpuri singer-turned-politician Pawan Singh who has announced that he will contest the Lok Sabha elections against NDA despite being a BJP member.

R K Singh was responding to queries about the singer's decision to enter the fray as an independent from the Karakat Lok Sabha seat in Bihar, where former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha, chief of Rashtriya Lok Morcha, is contesting as the NDA candidate.

"Either he should announce that he would not contest polls against the NDA nominee from Karakat or he should be suspended from the primary membership of the BJP. If he fights elections from Karakat, his suspension from the party will be the appropriate decision. Upendra Kushwa is the NDA candidate, who is Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji's nominee," said R K Singh, seeking re-election from the Arrah Lok Sabha seat.

Anybody contesting against the NDA nominee means he or she is against the alliance headed by Modi Ji, the minister said.

"Kushwaha's win will strengthen the hands of the prime minister. It's as simple as that," the union minister told reporters in Arrah.

Despite several attempts, Pawan Singh could not be reached for comment.

Asked about the Bhojpuri singer's decision, Bihar BJP president Samrat Chaudhary evaded a direct reply.

"Upendra Kushwaha is the NDA nominee from Karakat. He has the approval from PM Modi. The entire BJP is with Kushwaha. All BJP workers and leaders of NDA parties are working for him," Chaudhary told PTI.

Pawan Singh, who had earlier turned down a BJP ticket for Asansol in West Bengal, had recently said he would contest polls from the Karakat seat.

He has started campaigning there and announced that he would soon file his nomination papers as an independent candidate.

If Pawan Singh throws his hat into the ring as an independent candidate, the Karakat Lok Sabha seat is all set to witness a triangular contest.

Mr Kushwaha will soon file his nomination papers from the seat as the NDA nominee, while the CPI(M-L) Liberation's former MLA Rajaram Singh is also in the fray as a 'Mahagathbandhan' candidate.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)