Actor-politician Pawan Kalyan took oath as a minister in Chandrababu’s Naidu cabinet today. Mr Naidu – who emerged as a kingmaker after the BJP fell short of the majority in Lok Sabha elections – has returned as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for the fourth time.
Also known as ‘Power Star’, Pawan Kalyan is likely to get the post of Deputy Chief Minister, it’s learnt.
Jana Sena Chief Pawan Kalyan played a key role in bringing the BJP and Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) together to take on the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party.
The tripartite alliance made a clean sweep by winning 164 Assembly seats. It also bagged 21 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats.
Pawan Kalyan had last month said he had to make sacrifices to make the alliance happen. “This is more about ‘strategic understanding’. The alliance was needed as liberty is at stake in Andhra Pradesh,” he had told NDTV.
Elections for the 175-member assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh were held on May 13.
Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party dominated both elections five years ago, winning 22 of the state’s 25 Lok Sabha seats and 151 of its 175 Assembly segments.
Pawan Kalyan is the younger brother of veteran actor Chiranjeevi. While campaigning for Pawan Kalyan, Chiranjeevi had endorsed him as a new-age politician, saying that he did films under compulsion, but willingly entered politics.
The power star’s Jana Sena has not been politically active, but the actor has a huge fan base, especially among the youth across the two Telugu states.
Pawan Kalyan, who made his electoral debut in 2019, took his own time to position himself in state politics. Often criticised over his “slow pace” as a”part-time” politician, Mr Kalyan had urged his supporters to give him five years.
The 52-year-old agreed to bring down the number of seats to a realistic level to ensure that the TDP-JSP-BJP alliance materialises to avoid a split of anti-YSRCP votes.
Poll Pundits say Pawan Kalyan displayed maturity in seat-sharing talks and played a significant role to ensure the allkiance takes shape.
