By Neeraj Kumar

Patna: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has expelled independent candidate Pawan Singh from the party for contesting against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Upendra Kushwaha in the Karakat Lok Sabha seat. Despite repeated requests to withdraw from the election, Pawan Singh remained adamant, prompting the party to take decisive action.

Arvind Sharma, the state headquarters in-charge, issued an official letter stating, “You are contesting against the authorized candidate of the NDA alliance. This act is anti-party, tarnishing the party’s image and violating party discipline. Therefore, you are expelled from the party as per the instructions of the state president.”

The expulsion letter further reiterated, “In the Lok Sabha elections, you (Pawan Singh) are contesting against the authorized NDA candidate. This act of yours is anti-party, tarnishing the party’s image and violating party discipline. As a result, you are expelled from the party as ordered by the state president (Samrat Chaudhary) for anti-party activities.”

Previously, BJP had nominated Pawan Singh to contest from Asansol in West Bengal against Trinamool Congress candidate Shatrughan Sinha. However, Pawan Singh refused to run from Asansol and subsequently announced his candidacy from Karakat in Bihar.

Pawan Singh is now contesting as an independent candidate in the Karakat Lok Sabha constituency, where NDA candidate Upendra Kushwaha and CPI (ML) candidate Rajaram Singh from the Grand Alliance are also in the fray. Pawan Singh’s participation has turned the contest into a triangular battle, potentially splitting the BJP’s Rajput vote base and complicating Upendra Kushwaha’s campaign. Voting in Karakat is scheduled for the seventh and final phase on June 1.

The author is a journalist based in Patna