Will Pawan Singh break Bhojpuri actors' first election jinx? (2024)

Since the 1980s, the association of film stars with Parliament has been a common occurrence, a trend that has been increasing in recent elections. One significant reason for this is the positive public image that many film stars maintain, which enhances their acceptance among voters.

For the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, several parties, including the BJP and Trinamool Congress, have fielded many film stars. Bhojpuri film stars, like their Bollywood and other regional cinema counterparts, have also contested Lok Sabha elections in the past and become MPs.

This year, Bhojpuri actor and singer Pawan Singh is contesting as an independent candidate from the Karakat Lok Sabha seat in Bihar against Rashtriya Lok Morcha president and former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha.

Notably, no Bhojpuri actor has won their first Lok Sabha election.

PAWAN SINGH'S POLITICAL DEBUT

Pawan Singh is posing a significant challenge to Upendra Kushwaha, a BJP ally, in Karakat. Pawan Singh, who was previously nominated by the BJP to contest Lok Sabha polls from the Asansol seat in West Bengal, withdrew his name after receiving flak for "objecting women" in his films and songs.

He later announced his candidature from Karakat and filed his nomination on May 9. On May 22, the BJP expelled him for contesting as an independent candidate from Karakat.

With NDA's Upendra Kushwaha, Mahagathbandhan’s Raja Ram Singh, and AIMIM’s Priyanka Chaudhary already in the fray, Pawan’s entry has made the battle for Karakat a quadrilateral contest. Out of over 18.50 lakh voters, Yadav and Kushwaha voters are plentiful.

There are more than three lakh Yadav voters and three lakh Kushwaha and Kurmi voters. Rajputs voters are nearly two lakh, to which Pawan Singh belongs, posing a significant challenge to Kushwaha.

There are two lakh voters from the Vaishya community, roughly 50,000 Bhumihar voters, and one lakh Brahmin voters in Karakat. Situated along the banks of the Sone River, the Karakat Lok Sabha seat emerged in 2009 after delimitation, previously known as Bikramganj Lok Sabha constituency.

Janata Dal (United) candidate Mahabali Singh won the Karakat seat in 2019 and 2009, defeating Upendra Kushwaha in 2019.

In 2014, Upendra Kushwaha won Karakat by defeating RJD candidate Kanti Singh. The Karakat seat in Rohtas district will go to the polls in the final phase of Lok Sabha elections on June 1. If Pawan Singh wins, he will be the first Bhojpuri star to do so in his first election.

BHOJPURI ACTORS WHO LOST THEIR FIRST LOK SABHA ELECTION

Manoj Tiwari

Bhojpuri actor and singer-turned-politician Manoj Tiwari contested his first Lok Sabha election on a Samajwadi Party (SP) ticket from Gorakhpur in 2009. The party fielded Manoj Tiwari against BJP's Yogi Adityanath and BSP's Vinay Shankar Tewari.

Manoj Tiwari garnered only 11 per cent of the votes and came third. Yogi Adityanath defeated Vinay Shankar Tewari by 220,271 votes from Gorakhpur.

Manoj Tiwari later joined the BJP in 2013 and won his first Lok Sabha election in 2014 from North East Delhi. He won his second Lok Sabha election from the same seat in 2019. He is contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha for the third time against INDIA bloc candidate and Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar.

Ravi Kishan

Ravi Kishan contested his first Lok Sabha election unsuccessfully from the Jaunpur seat on a Congress ticket. He received only 4.2 per cent of the votes and came in sixth out of 21 candidates in the fray.

In February 2017, Ravi Kishan joined the BJP. He contested his first Lok Sabha election from the Gorakhpur seat and defeated Samajwadi Party candidate Rambhual Nishad by over 3 lakh votes. He is contesting from the same seat again in 2024.

Dinesh Lal Yadav 'Nirahua'

Dinesh Lal Yadav, popularly known as 'Nirahua', contested his first Lok Sabha election against Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav from Azamgarh in 2019. Akhilesh Yadav defeated Nirahua by 259,874 votes.

Later, Akhilesh Yadav resigned from the Azamgarh seat in March 2022 in favour of the Mainpuri constituency, which he won in the assembly election. In June 2022, Lok Sabha by-elections were held in Azamgarh. Dinesh Lal Yadav defeated Samajwadi Party candidate Dharmendra Yadav by more than 8,000 votes. In 2024, Nirahua and Dharmendra Yadav are once again contesting from the Azamgarh seat.

Kunal Singh

Kunal Singh contested his first Lok Sabha election from the Patna Sahib seat in 2014 on a Congress ticket. He was defeated by Shatrughan Sinha (then in BJP) by 265,805 votes.