Bhojpuri actor-turned-politician Pawan Singh on Tuesday met RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is looking to once again revive its fortunes in the Shahabad-Magadh region of Bihar, which had proved a massive speed breaker for it in the 2020 assembly polls as well as in last year’s general elections.
Pawan Singh met with Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) at his residence here in Delhi, along with Bihar BJP in-charge Vinod Tawde. Pawan Singh, after arriving at Kushwaha’s residence, touched his feet, and both leaders then posed for a photograph. Sources dubbed this move as crucial and a masterstroke ahead of the high-octane battle in Bihar.
Meanwhile, sources also indicated how the NDA has planned this meeting to sort out differences between the two leaders ahead of the crucial assembly polls in the state, especially in the Shahabad and Magadh regions. Tawde and BJP National Secretary Rituraj Sinha had met Kushwaha last night before the crucial meeting between the two.
After the meeting, Tawde said that Pawan Singh will always remain in the BJP and follow its ideology.
The Bhojpuri star, who had joined the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections last year, was announced as the candidate from West Bengal’s Asansol seat. However, he had then rebelled and contested the elections from the Karakat Lok Sabha seat in the Shahabad region, from where Kushwaha was also contesting as an NDA candidate. Following his rebellion, Pawan Singh was suspended from the party.
As a result, both lost to Mahagathbandhan’s candidate from Karakat, Raja Ram Singh of CPI(ML)(L).
However, sources indicated that the top leadership of the BJP was worried about the 2020 assembly election and 2024 Lok Sabha election results from the Magadh and Shahabad regions. The NDA won only 10 out of 55 assembly seats in the 2020 state polls in this region and, also in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, out of nine seats, it lost seven.
Shahabad comprises four Lok Sabha seats—Ara (Bhojpur), Sasaram, Karakat, and Buxar—while Magadh has five: Patna, Aurangabad, Gaya, Jehanabad, and Nawada.
What was more worrying for the NDA was that the BJP was able to win only five assembly seats, while NDA partners won the other five. The warning bells for NDA were also evident, as all of them were unable to win in many districts and secured zero seats in several.
Thus, looking to correct the caste arithmetic with the Bhojpuri star factor and caste equations, the BJP is now aiming to revive NDA’s fortunes in the region. The BJP, sources said, is hopeful that Pawan Singh, who comes from the Rajput community and has a huge fan base, will provide a much-needed boost to the cadre and voter enthusiasm during the polls.
The party also feels that Pawan Singh’s rebellion had an effect on the Ara Lok Sabha seat, where senior party minister R.K. Singh also lost.
Meanwhile, by arranging the much-needed meeting between Pawan Singh and Kushwaha, the party also wants to woo Koeri community voters, who had voted against the NDA during the 2020 assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha polls. With the split of the Koeri community votes in the Lok Sabha polls, Mahagathbandhan’s two Kushwaha candidates—Raja Ram Singh and Abhay Sinha alias Abhay Kushwaha—won from the Karakat and Aurangabad seats.
So, with this crucial meeting, the BJP now plans to bring back Koeri community voters to its fold and stop its split this time.
The Prime Minister, during his visit to Bihar in August earlier this year, visited Gaya and announced projects worth ₹13,000 crore that also cater to the Magadh and Shahabad regions.
Sources in the BJP also indicated that Pawan Singh, before meeting Kushwaha, also had a meeting with R.K. Singh in Ara. He may be fielded in the upcoming assembly polls to capitalize on his star power and help correct caste equations, which are a major factor in the state.
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Ankur Mishra is a journalist who covers an extensive range of news, from business, stock markets, IPOs to geopolitics, world affairs, international crises, and general news. With over a decade of experience in the business domain, Ankur has been associated with some of the reputed media brands. Through a sharp eye on global marketplaces along with deep insights and analysis of business strategies, Ankur brings simplicity to the complex economic matrix to decode market trends and empower people.
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