Pawan Kalyan’s tit-for-tat action after TDP announced 2 candidates

AMARAVATI: The TDP-Jana Sena alliance for coming elections in Andhra Pradesh appears to be in trouble as in a tit-for-tat action Pawan Kalyan announced that Jana Sena will contest Razole and Rajanagaram Assembly seats.

Finding fault with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) unilaterally announcing candidates for two seats even before seat sharing agreement, the actor-politician remarked that the TDP violated the principles of alliance.

Addressing the Republic Day function at the Jana Sena office in Mangalagiri, Pawan Kalyan said he was forced to declare that Jana Sena will contest these two seats after TDP announced candidates for Mandapeta and Araku seats.

He stated that the announcement of candidates by the TDP has caused concern to the Jana Sena leaders and said he was apologizing to them.

Pawan Kalyan said like Chandrababu Naidu, he was also under pressure from his party cadres and hoped that he would understand his compulsion.

He hinted that Jana Sena will contest one-third seats as part of the alliance. “I know how many seats we should contest,” he said.

He also made it clear that the alliance will not end with the Assembly elections but will continue beyond that.

The actor politician said he maintained silence when TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh made certain comments about the chief minister’s post. “I kept quiet for the sake of the state's interests,” he said.

The Jana Sena leader said his party can win seats by going alone but may not be able to form the government.

He reiterated that Jana Sena-TDP alliance will give a bright future to people of Andhra Pradesh.

Elections to the 175-member Assembly are slated to be held along with Lok Sabha polls in April-May.

Razole was the only Assembly seat won by Jana Sena in the 2019 elections. However, its MLA R. Vara Prasada Rao had later defected to YSRCP.

It was in September last year that Pawan Kalyan after meeting Chandrababu Naidu in Rajahmundry Jail had announced that Jana Sena will have an electoral alliance with the TDP for the forthcoming elections to throw YSR Congress Party out of power.

Since then, leaders of the two parties had a couple of meetings and agreed to draft a joint manifesto. However, they are yet to begin talks on seat sharing.