Neta vs abhineta: the Karakat battle pits a veteran politician against a Bhojpuri actor

Bhojpuri singer and actor Pawan Singh, who had earlier refused to contest the Lok Sabha election from the Asansol seat offered by the BJP, has now made it a tough fight for BJP ally and former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha in Karakat Lok Sabha seat.

Bhojpuri singer and actor Pawan Singh, who had earlier refused to contest the Lok Sabha election from the Asansol seat offered by the BJP, has now made it a tough fight for BJP ally and former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha in Karakat Lok Sabha seat.

Contesting as an Independent candidate, Mr. Singh is making big promises in his campaign. On May 22, the BJP expelled him from the party for contesting against Mr. Kushwaha, president of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) and a member of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in Bihar.

With Mr. Singh’s entry, the contest at Karakat seat in Rohtas district has become triangular, as the Opposition alliance has fielded Rajaram Singh of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) as its candidate.

Mr. Pawan Singh is banking upon his own fan following, with popular faces from the Bhojpuri film industry campaigning in his support. At a Jan Samvad held at Gorari village in the Karakat Assembly seat on Saturday, large numbers of people gathered to see Bhojpuri stars like Pakhi Hegde, Manoj Tiger, Astha Singh, Chandan Yadav, Ayaaz Khan, Sanjay Verma, Anupama Yadav, Shilpi Raj, Shivani Singh, and Sona Singh on the stage. More than political interaction, their campaign is a live stage show, with the stars seeking votes in favour of Mr. Pawan Singh. On Sunday, another Bhojpuri star Khesari Lal Yadav announced his support and promised to do a roadshow for him for him as well.

Much of the audience was under voting age; youth who had come from a nearby village to take photos and videos of the stars on their mobile phones. Mr. Pawan Singh has a huge fanbase among the youth who shouted at the top of their voices to see him. Despite the searing heat of the day, with temperatures around 40 degrees celsius, the crowd did not look tired.

Karakat Lok Sabha seat has more than three lakh Yadav voters, and another three lakh Kushwaha and Kurmi voters. Rajputs like Mr. Pawan Singh account for two lakh voters. The Vaishay community has another two lakh voters. There are one lakh Brahmin voters and about 50,000 Bhumihar voters.

Realising the importance of the caste factor, the Bhojpuri actors and singers performing on the stage did not hesitate to reveal their own castes, to send a message that Mr. Pawan Singh has support from all communities. While introducing herself, Shivani Singh said that she comes from the Kushwaha community; other stars belonging to the Rajput, Yadav, Brahmin, Vaishay, and Muslim communities mentioned these identities when they introduced themselves. Ironically, when Mr. Singh comes on the stage, he says that he does not do politics on the basis of caste.