Is Jana Sena ‘B’ Team Of TDP?

Amaravati: Actor turned politician, Pawan Kalyan ostensibly founded his Jana Sena Party to question those in power, but its brief political journey has hardly lived up to this ideal. From the time that Jana Sena was founded to this day, it becomes apparent that the party has been functioning as a B team of the TDP. Most recent developments further substantiate this point.

Pawan Kalyan has not questioned the ruling Telugu Desam party on any count so far. Barring odd instances last year when he accused TDP supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and his son and IT Minister, Nara Lokesh of corruption, the actor turned politician has been very cagey about criticising the party in power. On the contrary, when the YSR Congress party took up protests against some of the anti-people policies of the TDP, Pawan Kalyan stepped in to divert the attention of the people, as if to shield the Chandrababu government.

The Jana Sena founder did nothing on the issue of forcible acquisition of land from poor farmers for the development of the new capital in the state or with respect to highlighting the suffering of Uddanam kidney victims. In fact, it appeared as if he stood by the TDP government on these counts, rather than question it.

Leaders from both parties privately admit that both TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan have been behaving as if they have a secret pact and in a way which suggested that Pawan was following Chandrababu Naidu‘s directions. Analysts say that though Pawan Kalyan is the founder of his party, he seems to be reduced to a puppet in the hands of Chandrababu Naidu. In what is more likely, he floated his party at the behest of the TDP supremo, they say.

Former CBI JD’s Entry Into Jana Sena

Political observers say that the entry of former joint director of the CBI, VV Lakshminarayana into the Jana Sena party on Sunday, is yet another instance of Chandrababu Naidu pulling the puppet strings from behind. It was pointed out earlier that if the former CBI official had joined the TDP as was being speculated, the strong belief that there was a powerful connection between Chandrababu Naidu and Lakshminarayana would have got more or less established. It may be recalled that after YSR Congress party president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy left the Congress, the party leadership foisted several cases against him. Who investigated these cases with unbounded enthusiasm? It was the same VV Lakshminarayana, analysts point out. The former joint director of the CBI first said that he would float his own political party. Later it was said that he would head the Lok Satta Party. Then it was suggested that he would join the TDP and the yellow media played this up. Chandrababu Naidu is said to have reworked his strategy when his connection with the former CBI official became all too obvious and fingers were pointed at both of them.

Overnight, Lakshminarayana surfaced in the Jana Sena party, finding a new avatar. However this would not fool anyone who has been following political developments in Andhra Pradesh closely, observers say. One only has to connect the dots to establish the link between Chandrababu Naidu and the former CBI official, analysts point out.

It is clear that Chandrababu wants the Jana Sena to be a cushion which would attract a section of people who are seething with resentment against the TDP government, analysts conclude. The Jana Sena was set up to help the TDP, it appears.

BSP-Jana Sena Pact

Observers say that the alliance between Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Pawan Kalyan‘s outfit was forged at the behest of Chandrababu Naidu. The underlying idea is to weaken the YSR Congress party‘s support base in certain sections. It must be recalled that when Pawan Kalyan reached out to Mayawati on previous occasions, she did not evince much interest. It is being said that it was following Chandrababu Naidu‘s intervention that Mayawati agreed for a tie-up with Pawan Kalyan‘s party in Andhra Pradesh.

Meanwhile, where does the Congress party stand in this entire equation. The grand old national party has been reduced to Chandrababu Naidu’s C team in the picture. The irony is that the Telugu Desam was born out of anti-Congress sentiment and today, the party led by Rahul Gandhi is attempting to play second fiddle to the TDP in AP. Interestingly, where the Congress intended to field its candidates, it has been forced to swallow its pride and send them into the TDP so that the ruling party could give them a ticket.

Also Read: Pawan Kalyan Reading Lines From Chandrababu’s Script