Jana Sena Party president and actor Pawan Kalyan might have floated his party more than a decade ago, but he did not get a chance to take politics seriously.
It was only in the last few months before the recent assembly elections that Pawan Kalyan made a serious attempt in politics.
Over the past 10 years, he had to juggle both films and politics simultaneously, leaving him little opportunity to fully understand the nuances of politics and administration.
Now that the Jana Sena Party is part of the National Democratic Alliance government in Andhra Pradesh, led by Telugu Desam Party president and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, and that he has become the deputy chief minister, Pawan Kalyan is compelled to become a full-time politician and administrator.
Many of the ministers in the Naidu cabinet, who are new to their roles, are still learning the ropes. While they are enjoying their positions, they are not making much effort to understand the subjects allotted to them.
On the other hand, Pawan Kalyan is seriously involved in administration and governance. From day one, he has made sincere efforts to learn the subjects allotted to him—panchayat raj, rural development, rural water supply, environment and forests, and science and technology.
According to reports from Amaravati, Pawan Kalyan regularly holds meetings with the officials of the departments concerned to assess the state of affairs, learning from them what should be done and what should not be, posing questions to understand the subjects better, and noting down every point they brief him on.
Sources say he is also doing extensive groundwork before calling for meetings to prevent officials from misleading him.
He is inquiring about the financial position of each department and questioning the diversion of panchayat raj funds to other needs by the previous government.
Simultaneously, he is making it a point to stay in touch with the people, receiving representations from them and forwarding these to the relevant officials.
He has also opened his own departmental dashboard to monitor the progress of works and the status of representations he receives.
“It is good that Pawan Kalyan has decided to be a serious politician. It will also keep the other ministers and even the chief minister on their toes. He is sending a message to all that he is not a part-time politician and wants to make a difference,” sources close to him said.
