Pawan Kalyan’s First Year in Power: More Absences Than Action?
In the Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections held last year, Jana Sena created a sensation. Contesting 21 seats and winning all 21 with a 100% strike rate, Pawan Kalyan made history in Indian politics. It is known that the TDP, Jana Sena, and BJP contested the elections as an alliance. After losing in both the constituencies he contested in the 2019 elections, Pawan Kalyan not only won as MLA for the first time from Pithapuram in the recent elections but also took charge as the Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He is currently serving as the Minister for the highly crucial departments of Panchayati Raj, Rural Development, Forest, and Environment. So the natural discussion is: Has Pawan Kalyan, who was elected as an MLA for the first time, succeeded as a Deputy Chief Minister? How is his performance?
In any government, the Panchayati Raj and Rural Development departments are very crucial. Pawan Kalyan, who is handling these key portfolios, created a world record by conducting gram sabhas in all 13,326 village panchayats of the state on a single day and obtaining approvals for several development works. Additionally, he has been successful in fulfilling the election promise of providing road facilities to various tribal hamlets. While there are a few successes like these, it can be said that there are more criticisms regarding Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan’s working style. Even among Jana Sena leaders, some opine that it would be generous to say he worked effectively for even three months in the past year. Due to various reasons, he remained in the news for skipping Assembly sessions, Cabinet meetings, and collectors’ meetings.
Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, who is in charge of crucial departments like Panchayati Raj and Rural Development, has reportedly not been accessible even to the ruling party MLAs during the past year. TDP MLAs, who are key partners in the alliance, say that if they have any work in his departments, they must coordinate with officials, as speaking directly with the Deputy CM is nearly impossible. Not only TDP MLAs, even MLAs from his own Jana Sena party reportedly did not get time with him, according to a key leader from the party. On the other hand, there is talk even in official circles that external individuals are having a major influence over multi-crore departmental projects overseen by Pawan Kalyan. This has triggered widespread criticism. There have been long-standing allegations that private individuals are interfering in department affairs by operating from outside offices.
A few months ago, Pawan Kalyan, while serving as Deputy CM, publicly criticized Home Minister Anitha’s performance and caused a major uproar by saying that if things continued that way, he might have to take over the Home Ministry himself. It is said that in the past year, apart from staying in his camp office, there are very few records of him coming to his chamber in the Secretariat and discharging duties. Departmental sources say that district tours and departmental reviews are being conducted sporadically, only when it suits him. Another key issue being pointed out is that the way Pawan Kalyan is operating is not like a Deputy Chief Minister in a government, but rather as if he is running his own personal empire.
