Patna May 15 (IANS) Bhojpuri Star Pawan Singh is turning out a big challenge for NDA on the Karakat Lok Sabha seat after he made his intention clear that he will not withdraw his nomination despite the “pressure” from the BJP leaders.

Union Minister R.K. Singh and Bihar Minister Prem Kumar have openly asked Pawan Singh to withdraw the candidature or the BJP will take action against him.

Prem Kumar said that the party would expel Pawan Singh if he would not withdraw the nomination. Pawan Singh is a member of BJP but he is contesting the Lok Sabha election as an independent candidate from Karakat.

On Tuesday, Pawan Singh’s mother Pratima Singh also entered the electoral battle of Karakat Lok Sabha constituency and filed her nomination as an independent candidate.

Without any fanfare, Pawan Singh's mother reached Sasaram Collectorate, filed her nomination form and left quietly. Even the media was not aware of the nomination of Pawan Singh's mother.

The polling on the Karakat seat will be held in the seventh phase on June 1.

Sources said that Pawan Singh is apprehensive that his nomination will be cancelled. “If it happens then his mother will contest the election on this seat. Scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on Wednesday and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is May 16.

Pawan Singh's presence is a worrying factor for the NDA candidate.

The candidature of Pawan Singh may hurt Upendra Kushwaha who is contesting as an NDA candidate on Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) ticket. He is challenging Rajaram Singh Kushwaha (CPI-ML) of the Grand Alliance.

Upendra Kushwaha and Rajaram Singh come from the Kushwaha community which has a sizable number of voters in this constituency. Pawan Singh belongs to an upper caste and he has a big fan following in the rural areas of Bhojpur, Rohtas, Aurangabad, Kaimur and other areas. Upper caste people are considered core voters of BJP and the entry of Pawan Singh may hurt Upendra Kushwaha.

Karakat Lok Sabha seat has around 3 lakh Yadav voters, around 2 lakh Rajput voters, 3.5 lakh Kushwaha voters, and 2 lakh Gupta voters. Besides them, Bhumihar, Dalit, Mahadalit and Kurmi also have a sizable number of voters in this constituency.

Karakat Lok Sabha seat came into existence in 2008 after delimitation. Earlier, it was known as Vikram Lok Sabha constituency. It has Karakat, Dehri and Nokha assembly constituencies come under the Rohtas district and Nabinagar, Obra and Goh come in the Aurangabad district.

In 2014, Upendra Kushwaha won the election as an NDA candidate on this seat but he lost the election in 2019 after contesting as a grand alliance candidate. The JD-U candidate Mahabali Singh defeated Upendra Kushwaha in 2019.

The BJP had earlier given the ticket to Bhojpuri star Pawan Singh to contest from Asansol in West Bengal but he refused. Pawan Singh then filed his nomination on May 9, 2024, to contest the election from Karakat.