Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena to contest elections in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh

Popular actor and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan on Tuesday said his party will contest the 2019 assembly elections in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

The actor-politician announced that he will contest the election in Andhra Pradesh but his party will field candidates in all constituencies in both the states.

Talking to reporters here on the completion of three years of the party, he said it would be a value-based and youth-centric party with alternate political thought.

He announced that the Jana Sena Party would start building the organisation in both the states from June this year. He said they were in the process of identifying youth leadership at all levels.

The party is aiming at becoming active as a full-fledged political party from March next year.

He said the party has identified 32 issues like land acquisition, mining and agriculture and has launched a website to get people's views on every issue for formulating the party policies.

Claiming that workers are the strength of the Jana Sena Party, Pawan said the organisation also has good number of workers even in areas bordering Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Odisha.

On possible alliances with other parties, he said the party would think about the necessity or otherwise of any alliances after building the organisation.

Pawan, younger brother of Telugu superstar K. Chiranjeevi, had floated the party ahead of the 2014 assembly elections. He did not contest the polls but campaigned for the BJP-TDP alliance.

Pawan, who had shared dais with the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu, distanced himself from the organisation after the BJP-led NDA government denied Andhra Pradesh special category status.

The actor had since been targeting both the parties for going back on the poll promise. He, however, said he believed in constructive criticism.

Pawan was earlier associated with the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) floated by Chiranjeevi before 2009 elections. He was unhappy with his brother's decision to merge the party with the Congress in 2011.

Chiranjeevi, a former central minister, is still with the Congress.

When asked if there is a possibility of Chiranjeevi quitting the Congress and working with him, he said they were two independent individuals with different thinking.

Pawan said he was treading cautiously in view of his experiences in the PRP. He said people from other parties had joined the PRP with their personal agenda.

--IANS

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