Actor-turned-politician and Jana Sena Party (JSP) chief Pawan Kalyan, on Wednesday, 4 October, reportedly said his party would support the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) "despite being in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)," setting off speculation that the JSP has exited the BJP-led alliance.
What did Pawan Kalyan say? News agency ANI reported the leader as saying on Wednesday, "I came out of NDA to support the TDP. The TDP is a strong party and Andhra Pradesh needs its governance for the development of the state. Today, the TDP is struggling and we will support them. The TDP needs Jana Sainiks' support in this situation."
Former AP chief minister and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu was recently arrested in the skill development scam by the Andhra Pradesh Police. "If the TDP and Jana Sena join hands, the YSRCP will be submerged in the state," Kalyan said at a public meeting in AP's Krishna district, as per ANI.
Jana Sena Party sources, however, told The News Minute that the party has not exited the NDA and that the leader merely meant "he supported TDP despite being a part of the NDA."
Why is this important? Earlier, in September, Kalyan had visited Naidu at the Rajahmundry Central Prison where he is lodged in connection with the skill development scam. He then announced that his party would support the TDP in the upcoming Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections in 2024.
Jana Sena Party has been in alliance with the NDA since 2014. The TDP, which was also a part of the NDA, quit the alliance in 2018. Kalyan had previously proposed a Jana Sena-TDP-BJP alliance to contest the 2024 polls against the ruling YSRCP.
The BJP, however, did not confirm whether the TDP would be allowed to return to the NDA.
'No Loss or Gain': BJP
There is also speculation that the recent statement may be Kalyan's way of trying to convince the BJP to align with Naidu, The Quint has learnt.
A senior BJP functionary, on the condition of anonymity, told a reporter associated with The Quint:
"Pawan Kalyan and Jana Sena Party joined the National Democratic Alliance with the single agenda to bring TDP closer to its former ally and benefit from the alliance. He didn't join the party to help the BJP in anyway. The doors of the BJP are always open to those who wish to be part of the alliance and those who wish to leave may do so at their discretion. There's nothing that the BJP gains or loses."
The JSP, however, has not officially announced any break of ties with the NDA. In fact, Kalyan had attended an NDA meeting in New Delhi on 18 July, after which he said he would "stand by PM Modi's vision."
In Tamil Nadu, the AIADMK recently quit the BJP-led alliance over a feud with TN party chief Annamalai.
(With inputs from Deepika Amirapu)
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