Hyderabad: It was not clear whether actor and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan intends to go it alone, or, going by speculation, strike a deal with the BJP in view of its worsening relations with the TD.
The speculation is that he could rope in his brother Chiranjeevi, actor and former Union minister, to be the chief ministerial candidate, while he himself could be the main campaigner.
Mr Chiranjeevi, whose Rajya Sabha term ends in 2018, a year before the elections, has recently denied reports that he is joining the BJP. It is unlikely that having tasted political power, he would like to stay with the Congress which has lost its base in the state.
“Who knows whether we will withdraw from our alliance with the BJP or vice versa. One thing is clear, our leader Chandrababu Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi do not share close relations. We don’t know where it will lead us to,” a senior TD functionary said.
According to a close aide of Pawan Kalyan, the Jana Sena chief’s decision will depend on many factors. Since both the BJP at the Centre and the TD in the state are bound to face anti-incumbency, a new party with a new face, who is popular like Pawan Kalyan, will be able to tilt the scales.
Another factor remains YSR Congress chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, whose position will be determined by the outcome of his cases in court.
Much depends upon the poll-time alliances. Any which way one looks at it, Pawan Kalyan will have space in AP politics, the TD leader said.
“Politics is not static. We really don’t know the people’s pulse. We cannot predict anything at this stage, but Pawan is a crowd puller. Whether he has the ability to convert this into votes is a matter of speculation,” said a Congress MP who did not want to be named.
