New Delhi, October 04, 2021: The alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Jana Sena Party led by actor Pawan Kalyan in Andhra Pradesh appears to be on rocks with both the parties adopting independent lines in their political strategies in the state.
The BJP’s decision on Sunday to contest the upcoming by-election to Badvel assembly constituency in Kadapa district scheduled to be held on October 30, ignoring the plea of the Jana Sena Party not to field any candidate, is a clear indication that all is not well between the two alliance partners.
The bypoll to Badvel seat is necessitated with the demise of sitting YSR Congress MLA G Venkata Subbaiah on March 28. Initially, the Jana Sena Party wanted to contest the bypoll and asked the BJP to leave the seat to it, but there was no response from the latter.
Later, the Jana Sena announced that it won’t contest the bypoll as YSRC has given the ticket to Dasari Sudha, widow of Venkata Subbaiah, and as per the tradition that if any family member of the deceased MLA contests the elections, other political parties should keep away from the contest.
The main opposition Telugu Desam Party, too, initially announced the candidature of its senior leader Obulapuram Rajasekhar for Badvel, but the party’s politburo at its meeting held under the leadership of party president N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday, decided that it would pull out of the contest, respecting the tradition.
But the BJP decided to field its candidate for the Badvel bypoll. “Yes, we are contesting the bypoll to test our strength. It is not the question of winning or losing the election. Contesting the election is a democratic process,” a senior BJP leader said on condition of anonymity.
The BJP’s independent stand has irked the Jana Sena, which has been facing a virtual non-cooperation from its alliance partner for quite some time. In the latest episode of the confrontation between Pawan Kalyan and the YSRCP over the Jagan Mohan Reddy government’s decision to take over online cinema ticket sales, too, the BJP has not come to the support of Pawan Kalyan.
“Neither BJP state president Somu Veerraju nor any other BJP leader from the state issued a single statement or posted a tweet supporting Pawan Kalyan, when the ministers in the Jagan cabinet and other YSRCP leaders were using abusive language against the Jana Sena chief. It is thoroughly disappointing,” a Jana Sena Party leader said.
The BJP leaders also stayed away from Pawan Kalyan’s much-publicised programme of “Shramadan” of repairing bad roads on Saturday, coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti day, in Rajahmundry in East Godavari district and Anantapur.
The Jana Sena chief announced last month that his party cadre would take up road repairs across the state on October 2, if the Jagan government failed to repair badly damaged roads during monsoon. “Before announcing the programme, Pawan Kalyan did not consult us. So, there is no point in joining the programme,” the BJP leader quoted above said.
Pawan Kalyan is also not happy with the decision of the Narendra Modi government to go ahead with privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant despite strong protests by the people of the state and steel plant workers.
“I would have taken up agitation in a big away against the steel plant privatisation had the people of Visakhapatnam not defeated me in the last assembly elections from Gajuwaka constituency,” Pawan said, at a party meeting in Mangalagiri on Wednesday.
Jana Sena politburo leader Nadendla Manohar, however, said their party would extend solidarity with the striking steel plant workers and Pawan Kalyan, too, would join the agitation shortly according to the reports published in hindustantimes.com.
Though the BJP has been in alliance with the Jana Sena since 2019, there has not been any coordination between both the parties since then. There has been not a single instance of the BJP and Jana Sena cadre putting up a joint fight against the Jagan Mohan Reddy government in the state.
The last time the BJP and Jana Sena displayed their bonhomie was in April when Pawan Kalyan campaigned for the saffron party in the by-election to Tirupati parliamentary constituency. In fact, the Jana Sena wanted to contest the Tirupati bypoll, but was forced to withdraw following pressure from the BJP.
