C Pradeep Kumar
Vijayawada
Jana Sena Party (JSP) chief Pawan Kalyan’s recent announcement during a public gathering in Avanigadda, Krishna district, has sent ripples through the political landscape. He proclaimed, “The forthcoming government will be a TDP – JSP alliance government,” suggesting a potential shift in political alliances.
Pawan Kalyan resumed the fourth phase of the ‘Varahi Yatra’ on Sunday, garnering support from TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh for Varahi Yatra. Addressing a public meeting at the Government Degree College sports ground in Avanigadda, Pawan Kalyan made a prediction about the 2024 elections, stating that JSP and TDP would form the government. He even hinted at his willingness to assume the role of chief minister, setting tongues wagging within political circles.
Despite Jana Sena’s existing alliance with the BJP, the party chief conspicuously omitted any reference to the BJP while discussing future governmental prospects.
Recalling the recent events, Pawan Kalyan was quick to respond when TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu was arrested in Nandyal, making a significant display of protest on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad national highway when law enforcement prevented his entry into Vijayawada, citing concerns about public order.
Following Naidu’s remand in Rajahmundry prison, Pawan Kalyan, along with MLA Balakrishna and Lokesh, met Naidu for a Mulakat and later publicly declared his intent to form an alliance with the TDP for the 2024 elections, seemingly without prior consultation with his party’s leadership or the alliance partner, BJP. This decision garnered criticism, both internally within the party and from certain Kapu leaders, leading to a viral social media backlash.
It’s worth noting that Daggubati Purandeswari, president of the BJP’s Andhra Pradesh unit, responded to Kalyan’s announcement of an alliance with the TDP by asserting that the BJP remains in an alliance with Jana Sena. She mentioned that the BJP’s central leadership would make a final decision on any alliance arrangements before the 2024 elections.
Irrigation Minister Ambati Rambabu didn’t mince words when criticising Pawan Kalyan’s recent declaration of a JSP-TDP government, seemingly overlooking the BJP. Rambabu labelled Kalyan as one of the most “immoral, unethical, and unreliable” figures in politics, drawing comparisons to Chandrababu Naidu. He questioned Kalyan’s motives for supporting someone he referred to as corrupt and even suggested that Pawan Kalyan had created a larger-than-life image of himself within the BJP, overshadowing the party’s symbol, the lotus.
