Pawan Kalyan Stages Performances Under Chandrababu’s Direction

Ongole- Prakasam /Nellore/Satyavedu (Chittoor District): That the TDP is backed by Jana Sena is not much of a secret any more. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Monday complimented Jana Sena founder and actor Pawan Kalyan for questioning Telangana Chief Minister, K Chandrashekhar Rao. The TDP supremo was electioneering in Venkatagiri, Sullurpeta and Gudur of Nellore district, Satyavedu of Chittoor district and Ongole in Prakasam district.

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister tried to take credit for enhancing pensions and criticised Telangana Chief Minister KCR for not releasing water from Nagarjuna Sagar. True to his style, Chandrababu once again took credit for the development of Hyderabad and added that he would build the Tirupati, Chennai and Nellore Tricity industrial corridor in the same way. As in 2014, he once again promised that he would turn the Nellore district green with water from the Godavari through the Somasila reservoir.

Chandrababu’s boasts did not end there. He claimed that he brought recognition to the border areas of Tamil Nadu, particularly Satyavedu, through Sri City. Ironically, in the same breath, he said that he had visited Satyavedu in 2014 at the time of elections, and was coming to the place again now. The irony perhaps, was lost on him, but not on the crowd.

Meanwhile, not to be left far behind, Pawan Kalyan said that he would stand by TDP leaders if they backed him. He also justified his support for TDP in the past claiming that he believed that experience would help in development of the state. For the consumption of the audience in the TDP stronghold of Guntur, Pawan Kalyan had heard that there were MLAs in the ruling party who had turned into corrupt leaders.  The Jana Sena Party founder’s selective criticism of TDP was evident. He chose certain places for measured criticism of the ruling party because his party is increasingly being seen as a shadow entity of the TDP.  Villagers however, said that Pawan Kalyan was staging election performances under Chandrababu Naidu‘s direction.

On the other hand, Pawan Kalyan, was unsparing in his criticism of YSR Congress Party President, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. Clearly, the Jana Sena founder was reading lines from the script handed to him by Chandrababu Naidu. Pawan Kalyan’s staged appearances strengthened the belief that he has been put up by Chandrababu Naidu to attract some of the YSRCP votes.

With each passing day however, the Jana Sena founder seems to realise that it is not very easy to fool the people, especially as seen from his public meetings in Godavari districts. While Chandrababu Naidu hopes that the Jana Sena would split the votes of Kapu community, as also those of BC communities which would otherwise go to the YSRCP, Pawan has found the going much more difficult than he reckoned.

The YSRCP’s growing popularity among all segments of society including Kapus and BCs has left Chandrababu Naidu rattled. Analysts say that for Pawan Kalyan, it was the movie, Agnyaathavaasi in 2018 and Andhra Pradesh elections in 2019. The only difference is that this time around, the director is Chandrababu Naidu, observers point out. As a party, Jana Sena has lost all credibility and will go the way of Praja Rajyam founded by his actor-brother Chiranjeevi, they predict.

Also Read: Pawan Joins TDP Gang, Instead of Questioning It, Says Vijayasai Reddy