Former chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh IYR Krishna Rao is more of a bureaucrat than a politician. Though he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party before the recent assembly elections in the state, he is yet to understand the nuances of politics.
He is of the view that Jana Sena Party chief and actor Pawan Kalyan is an influential politician and he can still wield a lot of influence on Kapu community.
In an interview to a news channel, Krishna Rao expressed view that YSR Congress party headed by Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy would not have come to power had Pawan Kalyan taken a strong anti-Chandrababu Naidu and joined hands with the BJP before the elections.
“There was a strong anti-establishment wave at that time. And Pawan was not uttering a word against Chandrababu Naidu. Had he joined hands with the BJP, instead of the communists, Jana Sena would have won at least 30-40 seats and made a lot of difference in other constituencies,” he said.
Krishna Rao said he had never supported YSRC right from the beginning.
“I was only criticising Chandrababu Naidu during the elections but did not speak anything in support of YSRC nor did I appeal to the voters to vote in favour of the YSRC,” he said.
He feels that if Jana Sena and BJP join hands at least now, it would be a win-win situation for both.
“I will be the first person to feel happy if Pawan enters into an alliance with the BJP. While BJP has a traditional vote bank in all prominent cities of Andhra Pradesh, Jana Sena has a big vote bank among the Kapus. If both the parties join hands, they can emerge as a powerful force,” Krishna Rao said.