Overview

• Pawan Singh met RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha in Delhi, received his blessing, and was affirmed by BJP’s Vinod Tawde as being in the party and working for the NDA.
• Singh also met Amit Shah and JP Nadda as BJP functionaries coordinated his return, with Rituraj Sinha credited by reports for engineering the rapprochement.
• Reporting by multiple outlets says the party is weighing options for Singh’s role, including a ticket from Ara or Barhara or a non-electoral route such as the Legislative Council or Rajya Sabha.
• The reconciliation follows Singh’s 2024 independent run from Karakat that split votes and was blamed for losses in Shahabad and nearby Magadh seats.
• BJP strategists are counting on Singh’s Rajput appeal and Kushwaha’s outreach to consolidate Rajput and Koeri/Kushwaha voters under an ‘Operation Shahabad’ push to recover seats lost in 2020 and 2024.