The announcement made by Jana Sena Party chief and power star Pawan Kalyan to forge an alliance with the Telugu Desam Party is understood to have not gone down well with his party cadres and fans.
Though not many leaders have come out in the open criticising Pawan Kalyan’s statement, there have been reports that his decision has come as a big disappointment to his fans, followers and party cadre, who are desperate to see him as the chief ministerial candidate.
They are apprehensive that an alliance with the TDP would mean Pawan will never be able to come to power in his lifetime. If the TDP comes to power in Andhra Pradesh in the coming elections, the Jana Sena has to play a second fiddle to it.
It is quite obvious that if the TDP-Jana Sena combine comes to power, Naidu will become the chief minister again, and Pawan may not even become the deputy chief minister. It all depends on how many seats the Jana Sena will win.
And Naidu will gradually consolidate his position and in the next five years, he will project his son Nara Lokesh as the heir apparent, but not Pawan Kalyan. As a result, the power star will have to wait for many more years to fulfil his dream.
Analysts say going by the reactions of the Jana Sena Party workers at the field-level, it is unlikely that their votes might not be transferred to the TDP in the coming elections. The pro-Pawan voters might either remain silent rather than voting for the TDP.
On the other hand, wherever the Jana Sena Party candidates contest, the TDP votes would get transferred to them, because they want the YSR Congress party candidates to be defeated at any cost.
Apparently realising that there is some kind of uneasiness among the Jana Sena Party cadre over the alliance with the TDP, party political affairs committee president Nadendla Manohar and party general secretary Naga Babu have been trying to convince the party leaders about why Pawan had to take the decision.
Naga Babu issued a statement saying Pawan Kalyan had announced alliance with the TDP only after thoroughly assessing the political situation in the state and assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the party.
“It was a strategic decision taken, keeping in view the best interest of the state and the people,” he explained.
Naga Babu said the decision might cause inconvenience and heartburn to some people but they were all temporary.
“We have to keep a broader picture in mind before we express our views on the decision,” he said.
