Will Pawan Kalyan Meet His MLAs?

Jana Sena chief and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan’s approach has already drawn severe dissatisfaction from his party leaders and cadre. The main reason for this is Pawan Kalyan repeatedly stating that the coalition government under Chandrababu’s leadership should remain in power in Andhra Pradesh for another fifteen years. Putting aside the question of whether Jana Sena can independently come to power with its vote bank, what is not going well with the leaders and cadre is that instead of building the party independently and growing as a key force, Pawan Kalyan is openly declaring on public platforms that the party will continue to be with TDP for the next fifteen years. There is also discussion among party leaders questioning — “Is it enough that only you (Pawan) get positions of power? What about those who are working for the party across the state?” However, Pawan Kalyan is saying that no matter how many efforts are made, the alliance cannot be broken.

Meanwhile, a suggestion made by Chief Minister Chandrababu during the cabinet meeting held in Amaravati on Wednesday to Pawan Kalyan and BJP leaders has become a hot topic in political circles. Media reports say that “Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan and BJP senior leaders should also speak to their respective party MLAs,” as suggested by Chandrababu. At the same time, Chandrababu stated that he has already personally met with 24 TDP MLAs and explained their progress reports. The key question here is — should Chandrababu be the one to tell Pawan Kalyan, the Jana Sena chief and Deputy CM of Andhra Pradesh, to speak to his own MLAs? This has sparked a debate among Jana Sena leaders, suggesting that Pawan Kalyan is functioning entirely under Chandrababu’s direction. Party leaders are also saying that after the coalition government came to power in Andhra Pradesh, Pawan Kalyan has rarely held meetings with his own party MLAs.

On the other hand, just like the allegations that came up against some TDP MLAs, even some MLAs from Jana Sena, a key partner in the coalition, are facing major corruption allegations. They claim that Pawan Kalyan hasn’t spoken about these issues anywhere, nor has he sent any warning signals to those MLAs. While Pawan Kalyan immediately reacts when any allegations come up against junior leaders in the party, party leaders say there’s no such evidence of a quick response when it comes to MLAs. It is known that the media has recently reported widely on the corruption allegations against Jana Sena MLAs. Now the question of whether Pawan Kalyan will hold a meeting with his MLAs following CM Chandrababu’s suggestion has become interesting. Another key point here is that Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan is handling the very crucial Panchayati Raj department. So, many MLAs need to coordinate with him. But there’s discussion among leaders of all parties that he is not easily accessible — not only to his own MLAs, but even to MLAs of other parties in the ruling coalition. Since BJP is a national party, it remains to be seen whether their leaders will meet with their MLAs and what they will say, as per Chandrababu’s suggestion. It is being said that these matters came up during the political discussions held with ministers after the official agenda of the cabinet meeting was completed.