Pawan meets PM, hopeful of 'good days' for Andhra

Visakhapatnam: After a gap of eight years, Tollywood actor and Jana Sena Party president Pawan Kalyan met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Friday night.

Soon after the Prime Minister landed in the port city on a two-day visit and drove to Eastern Naval Command headquarters, Pawan Kalyan reached there and called on him.

Talking to reporters after a nearly half-an-hour long meeting, Pawan Kalyan, an ally of BJP, hoped that this meeting will bring good days for Andhra Pradesh in future.

He revealed that he received a call from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) two days ago inviting him to meet the PM.

The actor said the Prime Minister expressed his wishes for unity among Telugu people and for development of Andhra Pradesh.

"The meeting took place in special circumstances. He enquired about all issues. I briefed him as far as my knowledge goes," he said.

Pawan Kalyan made a brief statement to the media and declined to answer queries.

The two leaders are understood to have discussed the latest political developments in Andhra Pradesh. The meeting assumed significance in the backdrop of Jana Sena leader's efforts for political re-alignment.

Pawan Kalyan is keen to forge a grand alliance of opposition to take on ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) in the 2024 elections.

A bitter critic of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the actor had stated a few months ago that he is waiting for a roadmap from BJP to dislodge YSRCP from power.

Pawan Kalyan is in favour of having Telugu Desam Party (TDP) as an ally to prevent division of anti-YSRCP votes in the next elections.

Pawan Kalyan had backed TDP-BJP alliance in 2014 elections to state Assembly and Lok Sabha. Jana Sena had not contested the polls but the actor had campaigned for the alliance and addressed a few public meetings along with Modi and TDP leader N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Jana Sena had later parted ways with both BJP and TDP for not granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh as committed at the time of bifurcation of the state in 2014.

In 2019, Jana Sena had contested the elections in alliance with the Left parties and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) but the party could win just one seat in the 175-member Assembly with Pawan himself losing in both the seats he contested.