The absence of Jana Sena Party president and Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan at the high-level review meeting chaired by Telugu Desam Party president and chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, once again fuelled rumours over a possible rift between the two leaders.
The meeting, which saw the presence of all state ministers and secretaries, was aimed at discussing key governance issues.
However, Pawan Kalyan stayed away from the meeting and there was no statement from either him or the party explaining the reasons for his absence.
It is not immediately known whether Pawan Kalyan spoke to Naidu and took permission to skip the meeting, as he had done during the recent cabinet meeting, which he skipped on the grounds that he was suffering from viral fever and spondylitis.
This time, there is no such reason for the deputy chief minister to skip the meeting, as he is leaving for his South India temple tour from Wednesday morning. So, he must be alright health-wise.
Though Naidu asked all ministers and secretaries to attend Tuesday’s meeting, Pawan Kalyan skipped.
Interestingly, sources revealed that officials did not arrange a designated seat for Pawan Kalyan next to the chief minister.
Generally, the seat should be kept vacant if the deputy CM doesn’t attend for any reason. But sources said at the Tuesday’s meeting, Naidu’s son and state IT minister Nara Lokesh occupied the seat.
Reports suggest that differences between Pawan Kalyan and the TDP leadership, particularly Nara Lokesh, could be a reason for his absence.
For the past 15 days, the Deputy CM has distanced himself from all government activities, raising questions about his political stance within the alliance.
His absence from the Delhi election campaign was also highlighted in the media, while Naidu capitalised on his absence to campaign for the BJP.
Political analysts believe that a strategy is being implemented to reduce Pawan Kalyan’s influence within the government. It remains to be seen what his next moves would be.
Whether it just a smoke without fire or a serious trouble between the alliance partners remains to be seen.
