As Jana Sena Party headed by power star and Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan is celebrating its 11th foundation day on Friday, political analysts are busy discussing the future role of the Jana Sena Party in general and Pawan Kalyan in particular in the state politics in the coming years.
Despite being in the field for a decade, the party could not make any significant impact on the Andhra Pradesh politics till last.
Though established in 2014, it stayed away from contesting elections initially and Pawan Kalyan chose to extend his support to the leadership of Narendra Modi and Chandrababu Naidu, citing the national and the state interests.
In the next 10 years, Pawan Kalyan virtually remained inactive and was dismissed by political pundits as a non-serious politician.
Though his party contested the 2019 assembly elections with the support of the Left parties, it could hardly win one seat and Pawan himself lost in both the seats he had contested.
Those who had been observing the state politics for decades virtually wrote off Pawan Kalyan as an insignificant political force.
It was only in the last one year before the 2024 elections that he started taking a serious role in the state politics, particularly after the arrest of Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu.
The way he took the initiative in bringing together the TDP and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) together to stich up an alliance to prevent the split of anti-incumbency vote caught the attention of the political analysts across the country.
Maybe because of his efforts or the strong anti-incumbency against YSR Congress party government led by Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, the TDP-lead coalition swept the elections and wrested power in the state.
The 2024 elections reshaped Andhra Pradesh politics, cementing Pawan Kalyan’s role as a true political game-changer, as his party achieved a 100% strike rate, winning all the 21 assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats it had contested.
No doubt, the 2024 elections cemented Pawan Kalyan’s position in the state politics and he is being viewed as a big leader. In fact, Naidu is also giving a lot of importance to Pawan Kalyan in every decision making.
Analysts are wondering whether Pawan Kalyan would continue to be a gamechanger in the state politics or remain a one-time wonder.
As his party is celebrating its foundation day on Friday, analysts point out that there are still several drawbacks in the party.
“Till now, it doesn’t have an organisational structure – right from grassroots level to the top. It is still heavily banking on Pawan Kalyan’s charisma but doesn’t have the leadership at every level, who can organise the party programmes,” an analyst pointed out.
Additionally, the party lacks a clear philosophy or ideology of its own. While Pawan Kalyan speaks about Sanatana Dharma and the protection of Hindu traditions, his party leaders, who come from various other parties, do not consistently follow his line.
"There is no structured program of action on any issue," the analyst added.
If the Jana Sena Party aims to emerge as a powerful political force and sustain its image, it must build a robust organizational structure and present an alternative political platform for the people. Otherwise, it risks rejection from voters in future elections.
