Bhojpuri actor and singer Pawan Singh has been provided Y+ category months ahead of the Bihar assembly elections, sources said.
There was no official statement from either the Ministry of Home Affairs nor Mr Singh, but the development came days after his return to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is a part of the ruling alliance in the state.
Y+ category security comprises around 11-12 security personnel in total – two Personal Security Officers (PSOs) and eight to 10 commandos. The agencies that are involved are usually the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
The security cover is provided based on threat perception assessed by the Intelligence Bureau and can be periodically reviewed.
In the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls last year, Mr Singh was expelled from the BJP after he announced his candidature against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as an independent from Karakat parliamentary constituency. He narrowly lost to Rajaram Singh Kushwaha of CPI-ML.
“I have contested the Lok Sabha elections. Now, I will fight the Bihar Assembly elections 2025,” Mr Singh said earlier this year.
When asked whether he would contest the polls on a BJP ticket, he said, “Let the time come, everything will be clear.”
On September 30, Mr Singh met Union Ministers Amit Shah and J P Nadda, who is also the BJP national president. The singer said he is a part of the BJP.
Besides Mr Shah and Mr Nadda, Mr Singh met Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) president and NDA ally Upendra Kushwaha, who had suffered defeat in the Lok Sabha polls due to the former’s decision to contest as an independent.
Mr Singh was accompanied by BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde and party secretary Rituraj Sinha for the meeting.
Mr Tawde, who is the BJP’s organisational in-charge of Bihar, asserted that Mr Singh is in the BJP and will actively work for the ruling NDA in the state.
The singer’s wife, Jyoti Singh, has also announced to contest the Bihar elections. She said she may contest from Karakat or Dehri Assembly constituency.
She has been actively engaging with the public as a social worker.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, she campaigned for her husband in Karakat, building strong ties with the people.