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In a key development in Andhra Pradesh politics, Jana Sena Party, founded by Pawan Kalyan, has forged an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Announcing the alliance in Vijayawada on Thursday, Jana Sena President Pawan Kalan said that his party has decided to go with the BJP for the development of Andhra Pradesh.
Earlier in the day, the two parties held separate meetings with their key party functionaries to discuss the alliance in Vijayawada. Addressing a press conference later, Jana Sena President Pawan Kalyan said that a strong BJP at the centre was important for the development of Andhra Pradesh.
Stating that he always backed the leadership of Narendra Modi, he said the BJP-JS alliance would protect the interests of the State. “We are forging alliance unconditionally. We will contest the upcoming local body and general elections in 2024,” he said.
The duo would form a coordination committee and meet periodically to discuss the issues related to the State. “We will form the government in 2024,” he said.
“The people are longing for a third alternative, vexed with the attitude of the two parties,” he said. Senior BJP leader G V L Narasimha Rao has said that the alliance would ensure corruption-free government in Andhra Pradesh.
The announcement preceded a meeting between Pawan Kalyan and BJP President J P Nadda in New Delhi a few days ago. Terming the announcement as ‘historic’ in Andhra Pradesh politics, Narasimha Rao said BJP grew from the scratch and formed governments in several States within a short span of time.
Pawan Kalyan, who established the party just before the 2014 elections, had backed Telugu Desam in Andhra Pradesh and BJP at the Centre. He had campaigned for the two parties during the elections, helping the TDP clinch the elections that year.
He, however, fell out with TDP and went to the 2019 elections along with the Left parties. He, however, was defeated in both the constituencies he contested as his party won in only one seat in the 2019 elections. Senior BJP leader, who was in Vijayawada to oversee the alliance deliberations, has said that the Jaganmohan Reddy government failed to meet the aspirations of people of Andhra Pradesh.
He ruled out any alliance with the Telugu Desam Party and YSRCP in the future. “We will work against casteist politics and dynasty raj in the State,” he said.
“We will fight on streets and won’t allow any type of injustice and State-sponsored religious conversions,” he said.
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