The continued absence of Jana Sena Party president and Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan in the official meetings, including the cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has given rise to a lot of speculations.
The Jana Sena Party leaders say Pawan Kalyan has not been keeping well and hence, he is not available to the meetings. His party also issued a statement a few days ago that he was suffering from fever and back pain, which prevented him from attending recent cabinet meetings.
On Tuesday, when Naidu held a special meeting with cabinet ministers and department secretaries, Pawan was again absent. When the chief minister openly enquired about him in the meeting, his colleague Nadendla Manohar said Pawan was unable to attend due to severe back pain.
However, Naidu made some interesting remarks in response, stating that he had personally tried to reach out to Pawan but was unable to contact him, as he did not take calls. “How is he now?” Naidu asked Manohar.
Manohar responded saying Pawan is taking rest but admitted that the latter would be leaving for a three-day South India temple tour on Wednesday. Naidu did not say anything but continued with the meeting.
However, the visuals of Pawan Kalyan coming out of the Kochi airport and his visit to a local temple showed that he is absolutely alright. In fact, he was walking out of the airport briskly in his saffron attire, indicating that he has no indications of any backpain.
Naidu’s open enquiry about Pawan and his comment that that he couldn't reach Pawan on phone has now sparked intense discussions within the coalition, lending credence to the speculations that Pawan Kalyan is not very happy with the way Naidu is promoting his son Nara Lokesh.
There was also a talk that the deputy chief minister was upset with Naidu for publicly announcing the ranking of ministers based on their performance and placing in the 10th position, below Naidu and Lokesh. What is more, these rankings were announced in a meeting that Pawan Kalyan did not attend.
Though Naidu later clarified that the rankings were not meant to belittle anyone or elevate others but were purely based on performance, sources said Pawan Kalyan has been frustrated with the development.
