Bhojpuri stars glow outside Bihar in LS polls, none fielded from Bihar

Patna: Bhojpuri stars are making it big in national politics but they seem conspicuous by their absence in the electoral battle in Bihar, the very springhead of the language spoken in places as far-off as Mauritius, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.

Manoj Tiwari, who hails from the state’s Atarwalia village in Kaimur district, has made Delhi his political “karma bhoomi” while in Uttar Pradesh, Ravi Kishan and Dinesh Lal Yadav ‘Nirahua’ are seeking re-election from seats close to their native places.

In the run-up to Lok Sabha polls, there was a lot of buzz around Pawan Singh, a native of Arrah, entering the fray. He got a ticket, but, surprisingly, from West Bengal, and withdrew from the contest following a controversy. Speculations are rife that internet sensation Neha Singh Rathore would get a Congress ticket ever since she attended a number of party events, including Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’.

“Several Bhojpuri superstars are in the fray for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, but none has been fielded from Bihar, the epicentre of the regional film industry, or neighbouring Jharkhand”, said Gunjan Kumar, the lone popular Bhojpuri/Magahi singer who has thrown his hat in the ring from Bihar.