On July 18, Pawan Kalyan, the president of the Jana Sena Party (JSP), was called to attend the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting in New Delhi. After the meeting, the actor-turned politician met Prime Minister Narendra Modi alone. Later, he also met Home Minister Amit Shah and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president J.P. Nadda. His presence at these meetings reaffirmed the JSP’s alliance with the BJP and its presence in the NDA. It may also push the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) to rethink its political strategy in Andhra Pradesh.
Mr. Kalyan took the opportunity in New Delhi to criticise the ruling YSRCP and also speak to the national media. He suggested that the BJP open its arms to all those parties which intend to upset the YSRCP government. He has repeatedly dropped hints that the 2014 winning combination of the BJP, the JSP, and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) should be back in force to ensure that Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is no longer in power.
Mr. Kalyan founded the JSP in 2014. He did not contest the 2014 general and Assembly elections, but provided outside support to the BJP-TDP alliance. The combination won, and Chandrababu Naidu of the TDP was back as Chief Minister for the third time. However, in 2018, the JSP grew disillusioned with the TDP and the NDA over issues of farm distress and the non-grant of ‘special category status’ for the State, promised during the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, and left the alliance. In 2019, the JSP fought the Assembly elections along with the Left parties and the Bahujan Samaj Party, but it performed miserably. Despite contesting all the 175 Assembly seats, it won only the Razole Assembly seat. The next year, it rejoined the NDA alliance. Since then, Mr. Kalyan has met Mr. Modi at least twice and Mr. Shah and Mr. Nadda several times.
