Popular Dalit leader Saripella Rajesh alias Mahasena Rajesh, who is known for his vocal and aggressive comments against the upper caste people, on Tuesday announced that he was withdrawing his support to Jana Sena Party led by power star Pawan Kalyan.
In a posting on his Facebook handle, Rajesh, who was till recently a bitter critic of YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, declared that compared to Pawan Kalyan, Jagan is a much better leader for the weaker sections.
“Even TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu is better than Pawan Kalyan,” Rajesh, who dropped out of the contest from P Gannavaram constituency in Konaseema district, after being given the TDP ticket.
As part of the alliance, the seat was allotted to Jana Sena Party, which fielded Giddi Satyanarayana.
Stating that Dr B R Ambedkar advocated the people to fight against those who attack innocents in the name of caste and religion, Mahasena Rajesh said he would extensively campaign among the people about the damage being done to the society from Pawan Kalyan.
“We have had enough of him. We shall work in a democratic way to defeat Jana Sena Party candidates in all the constituencies. We are not interested in politics and posts, but in fighting against injustice meted out to the people,” he said.
Rajesh said he would have sailed with Jagan Mohan Reddy had he been interested in posts and positions.
“Where there is no consistence in the leaders, we, too, cannot stick to one stand,” he said.
Mahasena Rajesh, who floated a pro-Dalit organisation called Mahasena before 2014, was one of the favoured leaders for Naidu and his name figured in the first list of 94 TDP candidates announced in March.
Such was his clout in the TDP that Jana Sena Party leader Naga Babu had even snubbed strong Kapu leader and spokesman like Kalyan Dileep Sunkara openly for making critical comments against Rajesh.
But his controversial comments against Brahmins and alleged remarks against women led to protests from various groups including Brahmin associations, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bharatiya Janata Party and even Jana Sena Party workers. As a result, Naidu asked him to drop out from the contest.
Rajesh initially joined the YSR Congress party, but came out of the party after 2019. Since then, he has become a bitter critic of the party and Jagan Mohan Reddy, which brought him closer to the TDP.
