Pawan Kalyan: Andhra Pradesh has a new government. N Chandrababu Naidu, head of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), took office as chief minister on Wednesday (12 June), after his party’s alliance with the Jana Sena Party (JSP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a landslide victory in the southern state’s Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
JSP President Konidela Pawan Kalyan has allegedly taken oath as Andhra Pradesh’s deputy chief minister. The well-known actor was instrumental in toppling YS Jagan Mohan Reddy of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) from office. He has also been credited with forming an alliance between the TDP and the BJP.
Pawan Kalyan is who?
Kalyan, a prominent figure in the Telugu film industry, is renowned for his acting prowess. He is the younger sibling of K Chiranjeevi. His journey in cinema with the 1996 film “Akkada Ammayi Ikkada Abbayi”. Among his noteworthy works are “Tholi Prema”, “Gabbar Singh”, and “Attarintiki Daredi”. He clinched the Filmfare Award for Best Actor in Telugu for his stellar performance in “Gabbar Singh”.
Pavan started the Janasena Party in 2014. He was also named a Pepsi brand ambassador in 2001, making history as the first person from South India to hold such an honor.
Pavan’s political history
In 2014, Kalyan founded the Janasena Party, following his brother Chiranjeevi’s merger of his party with the Congress three years earlier. This move left the Kapu community disheartened, as they had anticipated leveraging Chiranjeevi’s popularity for political influence. Chiranjeevi eventually withdrew from politics after his party faced dwindling support.
Kalyan failed to generate significant enthusiasm within the community. In the 2014 elections, he refrained from contesting since his party was newly formed and lacked organizational strength. Instead, he threw his support behind the TDP-BJP alliance, which emerged victorious in the state elections.
During the subsequent five years, Kalyan did not concentrate on bolstering his party, while the YSRCP emerged as a formidable political entity.
Kalyan became actively involved just weeks before the 2019 assembly elections. He began to criticize the TDP and also voiced his disapproval of the Modi government for failing to fulfill promises such as granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh.
In the 2019 elections, Kalyan forged alliances with Communist parties and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). However, Jagan Mohan Reddy’s party secured a landslide victory, clinching 151 out of 175 assembly seats. The Janasena Party managed to secure only about 5% of the votes and one MLA, who subsequently switched to the YSRCP.
Shortly after, Kalyan terminated his collaboration with the Left parties and BSP. Instead, he aligned with the BJP, which had lost its influence in state politics.
Before the 2024 elections, recognizing the growing popularity of the TDP, Kalyan allied with them to bolster his own party. Chandrababu Naidu, understanding the need for support from the Kapus, also allied with Pawan Kalyan. However, Kalyan was aware that by joining forces with the TDP and accepting only 21 assembly and two Lok Sabha seats in their pact, the Kapus might feel disappointed.
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Kalyan’s perseverance and astuteness paid off, securing a position for his party in Naidu’s cabinet.
PM Modi gave Kalyan praise
During the NDA meeting on June 7 at the Central Hall of the Old Parliament, while addressing the alliance members, Prime Minister Narendra Modi commended Kalyan for his party’s performance in the Assembly polls.
Modi pointed towards Kalyan and praised, “Pawan is not just a breeze, he’s a storm.”