In a significant development, Jana Sena Party chief and power star Pawan Kalyan is understood to have decided not to contest the elections in Telangana, but to support the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi in the upcoming assembly elections in the state.
Pawan is learnt to have made this announcement at a meeting with state-level party functionaries at Eluru.
He is still undecided as to whether his party should contest the elections or not. Several party leaders reportedly asked him what the stand of the Jana Sena Party would be in the Telangana, where the electioneering is gradually picking up.
He told the party leaders that it would be an exercise in futility if the Jana Sena Party contested elections in Telangana as the chances of winning are very bleak.
“Instead, it is better we support the TRS. I am very much impressed with the administration of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao,” he said.
Pawan felt that there was a feel good factor among the people in Telangana, as the TRS government had taken up several irrigation projects like Kaleshwaram and Palamuru-Ranga Reddy lift irrigation scheme and was implementing several welfare schemes such as pensions, construction of double bedroom houses and programmes for SCs and STs.
“So, we have decided to support the TRS in the best interest of the Telangana state,” he said.
Interestingly, it was only three days ago Pawan told the media in Vijayawada that his party was contemplating contesting 23 or 24 assembly seats in Telangana.
The Jana Sena Party chief said he would discuss the issue with his party colleagues shortly and take a decision on how many seats his party would contest in Telangana and how to go about with the campaign.
Apparently, TRS president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had a talk with Pawan and sought his support to the ruling party in the coming elections. In return, the TRS would protect all commercial interests of Pawan Kalyan in Hyderabad.
The TRS chief has already started making efforts to bring Jana Sena and YSR Congress party together to defeat the Telugu Desam Party in 2019 assembly elections.
