Bhojpuri actor Pawan Singh, who was fielded by BJP to fight from Asansol, opts out of Lok Sabha polls

"I am thankful to the BJP's top leadership from my heart for selecting me as their candidate from Asansol but due to some reasons I will not be able to fight the polls from the seat," he posted on X tagging BJP President JP Nadda.

Pawan Singh is a well-known Bhojpuri actor.

TMC reacts

Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee posted his reaction after Singh backed out from Lok Sabha polls and wrote on X: "The INDOMITABLE SPIRIT AND POWER OF THE PEOPLE OF WEST BENGAL." 

BJP releases first list of 195 candidates

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday unveiled its first list of 195 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Narendra Modi fielded from Varanasi for the third time

Indian PM Narendra Modi will contest the poll from Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi seat.

This is the third time the PM will be contesting the polls from the politically crucial seat.

He had registered back-to-back victories from the seat in 2014 and then in 2019.

Announcing the names of candidates,  party general secretary Vinod Tawde said: "PM Modi will fight from Varanasi. The list also includes details regarding 34 Central Ministers and MoSs. It also includes the name of Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla and 2 former CMs as well."

"28 of these candidates are women. 47 candidates are under the age of 50. The list also has 27 SC candidates and 18 ST candidates. We're fielding 57 OBC candidates out of these 195," he said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has been fielded from Gandhinagar seat in Gujarat.

PM Narendra Modi and his BJP are eyeing to return to power for a record third consecutive term.