Within hours of the reports appearing in various media and social media platforms that Jana Sena Party headed by Pawan Kalyan is likely to return to the Telugu Desam Party fold for the ensuing general elections in Andhra Pradesh, the power star hurriedly issued a statement condemning the same.
Pawan tweeted on Thursday morning that Jana Sena would go it alone in the coming assembly elections in the state and would contest in all the 175 seats. There would be no alliance with any other party except with the Left parties, he clarified.
“We shall give due importance to women and youth. So, don’t believe the rumours being spread by the ruling party and the opposition party. Let us all condemn such rumours,” he said in his tweet.
Interestingly, Pawan said his party would contest in all the 175 assembly seats, while working with the Left parties.
It made one wonder whether he would not share any seats to the Left parties and is expecting free support to his party in the elections.
There were speculations in the media that Pawan Kalyan had struck a deal with Naidu over seat sharing.
Apparently, Naidu had promised to allot 25 assembly seats and three MP seats to Jana Sena in the coming general elections. And the TDP would bear the entire election expenditure of Jana Sena candidates.
Apparently, Pawan wanted to play his cards close to his chest till the elections without revealing his actual strategy.
“May be he is rattled by the exposure of his strategy and hence, has gone into the defensive mode,” a political observer said.
In any case, Pawan would stand exposed in his next public appearance. If he continues to make strong attack on the TDP and its president N Chandrababu Naidu and also YSRC chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, it would indicate his determination to emerge as an independent political force. Otherwise, he would end up a non-serious candidate.