Is Pawan Kalyan the most important ally of Chandrababu?

Telugu actor and Jana Sena Party founder Pawan Kalyan landing in the city of Nawabs was a surprise. Once in Lucknow, he backing BSP supremo Mayawati for prime minister’s post was a bigger surprise. For those who felt that the party needs to spell out its stand at national level, there lies the answer. For those wondering what is the significance of the meeting back home in Andhra Pradesh, this can be one possible answer: the actor attempts to bring two numerically strong communities—dalits and Kapus—together into his fold ahead of the state and general elections. 

In Andhra Pradesh, dalits make up for close to 17 per cent of the population and Kapus constitute around 20 per cent. By sharing seats with BSP candidates and campaigning with the logo of Mayawati, the actor seems to be aiming for the support of dalit voters. Coming to Kapu votes, Pawan himself belongs to the community and it is no surprise that he will expect their blessings. 

Wooing certain sections and communities before elections is nothing new. But, these two communities are peculiarly placed in AP electoral politics—they are not traditional voters of Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

The dalits and dalit-Christians are always known to be loyal to the Congress. In Rayalaseema region, they are known to side with Reddys who were the backbone of the Congress. After bifurcation, when Congress faced near-extinction in AP, the minorities and the dalits got into the vote bank of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).

The Kapus and Kammas are talked about for their political rivalry. The TDP is seen as a party of Kammas and this impression has only amplified in the last few years. There have been allegations by the opposition parties, the YSRCP and the BJP, that the TDP government was promoting Kamma officials to key positions just because they are close to the party. Under these circumstances, Kapu leaders struggling for reservation have started looking at the TDP with suspicion. The best alternative for Kapus would have been the YSRCP until the Jana Sena Party announced that they will fight elections on their own last year.

Is the Jana Sena working towards splitting anti-incumbency and anti-TDP votes? Yes, say political observers. In 2014, Pawan Kalyan’s party did not contest elections but supported the TDP-BJP combine.

AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan seem to be on the same page when it comes to Telangana Chief Minister, K. Chandrashekar Rao. Both the Andhra leaders have tried to rake up Andhra sentiment while projecting KCR as an outsider and a rival. While Babu has clubbed KCR, Jagan and Modi into one team leaving out Pawan, the latter is contesting in Telangana, which is seen as a move opposing the TRS. In the last few months, Naidu and Pawan Kalyan have been going soft on each other in public meetings and press interactions, keeping criticism to minimum levels. 

The joining of a former top cop in the Jana Sena has also fuelled the speculation that there is a tacit understanding between the two parties. On Sunday, former CBI joint director V.V. Lakshminarayana joined the actor’s party.  

In 2011, Lakshminarayana started probing disproportionate assets case of YSRCP president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, but he himself had to face some uncomfortable questions and allegations. At that time, the YSRCP had alleged that the TDP and the Congress joined hands to target Jagan with false cases. The IPS officer was accused of acting under the pressure of opposite political camp to ‘fix’ Jagan in an overenthusiastic manner. Around this time, the call records data of the officer was made public and it was alleged that he was constantly in touch with a section of the media close to the TDP and Naidu. After he was repatriated to his home cadre, Maharashtra in 2013, there was news that the TDP government was keen to get him to Amaravati in a key post. After he had taken voluntary retirement, he made public his plans to get into politics. A few days back, there was news that he was joining the TDP. The YSRCP reacted strongly and questioned if the officer was being “rewarded” for his previous assignments. In a surprise turn of events, he met Pawan Kalyan on Saturday and joined Jana Sena the next day.

As the TDP and the Jana Sena released the list of candidates, it looks like both are fighting hard for one outcome.