Jana Sena Party (JSP) will stand for caste-free politics, Special Category Status (SCS) and a society that united as Andhra Pradesh, not as castes and sub-castes, says the party president and actor Pawan Kalyan. In an exclusive interaction with The Hindu at his party office here, the JSP chief says the ruling YSR Congress has failed on all the promises it made to people and is fading away in several districts.
Commenting that the present government has promoted rivalries among the castes through undesired means, Mr. Pawan said the State should be united as people of Andhra Pradesh to restore the social fabric and JSP will strive to achieve the goal.
YSRCP should go as it betrayed youth, employees, teachers and farmers. Despite enough strength in the Parliament, the fight for SCS was ignored by the party according to him.
“Instead of ban on liquor, its sale is promoted through numerous brands. And no Capital city for AP; no development, roads are in a pathetic state, no new industries and no employment. All sections of the society are unhappy about the governance and it is evident in the way leaders are facing the heat from the public today,” Mr Pawan reasons out. The loss is gradual, not seen at a go. YSRCP is washed out in a couple of districts and is fast fading out in many districts, he commented.
Speaking about the irreparable damage done to AP through illogical and unjustified bifurcation, he said that the political parties have sacrificed people’s interests for their own selfish gains. “Eight years on, there are several bifurcation issues pending and unresolved and it was a huge loss to AP but the parties have become mute spectators. People will not keep quiet; they will give it back. As we can see, Congress has lost AP and TDP has lost Telangana,” he said, adding that the people of AP should unite and fight for their rights in this regard.
JSP growing strong:
The party chief said that JSP is growing from strength to strength and could build an army of cadre and different levels of leadership across the State. “We have come a long way in strengthening leadership from grassroots. Today, we have over 3.6 lakh committed party workers across the State. They are involved in adding other like-minded people looking for right change in the State. Identification of candidates for the coming polls is also being actively pursued. We keep working irrespective of the outcome. We fought against all odds and will continue to do so,” he said.
It was given to understand that the party is not much worried about the alliances nor the forthcoming polls. It may go solo or may go either with BJP or TDP or with both. Unlike in the last two elections in 2014 and 2019, the party will be giving a tough fight in 2024. For record, he supported TDP and BJP in the past two elections.
During 2019 polls, the YSRCP has secured a landslide victory with 151 of the total 175 Assembly seats, followed by its chief rival Telugu Desam Party winning 23 seats. The JSP made an entry with one seat. The Congress and the BJP have also contested but won nill seats.
Political Entry:
Stating that his entry into politics was never an accident, Mr. Pawan says the trigger was an incident in the combined Andhra Pradesh where he was obstructed by a political entity when he attempted to do a public service spending his own money some 15 years ago. “Initially I wanted to involve in public service through an NGO but later followed my inner call to enter politics. I’m here for long time play and for positive change,” he said.
Impressed by Modi’s leadership
The actor-cum-politician finds Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership impressive and says the later has contributed to the much-needed unity among people from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. “My first exposure towards Mr. Modi and his administration was when I was shooting in Gujarat, way back when he was the chief minister. It was really exemplary,” Mr. Pawan exclaimed.
