Pawan Kalyan’s Attack Puts TDP In A Spot

Kommineni Srinivasa Rao​

Tollywood actor and Jana Sena founder Pawan Kalyan spoke for the first time against the rampant corruption prevailing in the ruling TDP at the plenary session of his party in Guntur. Pawan lashed out at the corrupt practices of Chandrababu Naidu and Lokesh for the first time in four years. One could clearly see the simmering anger against the TDP government from the vocal, supportive reaction of youth in the crowd to Pawan's criticism.

Significantly, Pawan Kalyan said that in its desperation to win at any cost, the TDP was prepared to spend as much as Rs. 25 cr per constituency in the next round of elections. It is clear that TDP is clearly rattled by Pawan Kalyan's criticism of Lokesh. Pawan alleged that Shekhar Reddy, who was caught in possession of hundreds of crores at the time of demonetisation, was connected to Lokesh.

Stung by Pawan's remarks, Chandrababu and other TDP leaders are putting forth lame explanations such as the BJP and Centre being behind Pawan Kalyan. The truth of the matter is that they are unable to counter Pawan's criticism and offer any explanation.

TDP, which usually rebutted similar allegations made in the past by Leader of Opposition in AP and YSRCP President, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, now finds itself cornered and lost. Pawan's speech only added to the loss of credibility in the eyes of the people which the TDP is facing. Pawan criticised the ruling TDP on several counts—corruption, atrocities and irregularites, among other things. He deserves a round of applause for this, especially since he was seen as Chandrababu's partner all along. As long as he was in Chandrababu's camp Pawan's silence on these issues all these years was not astonishing.

Pawan Kalyan has now made it clear that he is not an ally of the TDP in any way. Pawan's reference to Chandrababu's falsehoods along with examples, made his speech all the more interesting. Pawan Kalyan remarked that if Chandrababu, for instance, said three things on Special Category Status, he would utter six lies. Pawan also remarked that while Chandrababu told him that 1000-1500 acres of land would suffice for the construction of a capital city, he later acquired 35,000 acres.

Pawan Kalyan also spelt out at length how Chandrababu created rifts between castes. Chandrababu did not quite anticipate the ferocity of Pawan's attack, considering the fact that the actor-turned-politician is not closely aligned to the BJP. If Chandrababu had had an inkling, he would have clamped down on Pawan's meeting and imposed a number of restrictions. Chandrababu would have ensured that Pawan is criticised by TDP leaders. Hence, for Chandrababu, who considered Pawan to be his trusted ally, the attack came as a bolt from the blue.

Pawan seems to have sent out a message to YSRCP president, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, that he was no longer Chandrababu's partner or ally. To some extent, Pawan has been able to rid himself of the stigma that his association with Chandrababu-led TDP, an unprincipled political entity, had brought. Pawan's speech had several shortcomings and among them was his inability to attack Chandrababu on the subject of horse-trading of MLAs spending crores of rupees, while mentioning YS Jagan's absence from the AP assembly without dwelling on the actual reasons. Similarly, Pawan should have referred to the money spent by Chandrababu to win the Nandyala by-poll.

Pawan's announcement saying he would go on a fast unto death for special status to AP, is to be welcomed. It now remains to be seen whether Pawan Kalyan would turn into a full-time politician. This will depend to a large extent on his actions and programmes and the hurdles likely to be placed in his path by the government. One thing is clear—Pawan has created a political role for himself, small as it may be, in Andhra Pradesh. If he goes out into the masses and travels across the length and breadth of the state, it is possible that the political landscape of the state may go through some change.

It is difficult to predict the outcome of YS Jagan and Pawan Kalyan coming together. There is no doubt that the result would be overwhelmingly in their favour. If they face each other off, it would not come as a surprise if the electoral fight between YSRCP and Jana Sena may see TDP relegated to the third spot. The most obvious development now is that the Telugu Desam party faces a grave crisis.