Amit Shah-Pawan Kalyan: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah who had a long meeting with state party leaders and laid a path for the party to succeed in 2024 assembly elections, had not met or even referred to alliance partner Pawan Kalyan and his party Jana Sena Party (JSP). Though the senior BJP leader talked about political vacuum and opportunity for their in Andhra Pradesh, he has not mentioned that they would sail with JSP in 2024!
Amit Shah-Pawan Kalyan
This non-mention of JSP in BJP’s state meeting with Amit Shah has raised many eyebrows and has also made people question the future of the alliance between the two parties. The senior BJP leader was conspicuous in his opinion about TDP and said that there was no chance of yet another alliance with the party. “TDP is a gone case. It is facing a leadership crisis. That has caused a political vacuum and we have to capture that space,” he said, according to a news agency report.
It was not long ago when BJP state president Somu Veerraju had praised JSP leader Pawan Kalyan and went to the extent of naming as the CM candidate in 2024 elections. He said Prime Minister Nareendra Modi liked Pawan Kalyan and hence BJP leaders in the state must treat the JSP chief with respect. “Before the 2014 general elections, they attended a public meeting in Tirupati. Modi took Pawan Kalyan along with him in his helicopter and attended seven public meetings at different places in the state amidst a downpour. After the meetings, Modi told me that we should keep good company with Pawan Kalyan,” he recalled.
Somu Veerraju said that the BJP always had in its mind a plan to make Pawan the leader of Andhra Pradesh. “Home minister Amit Shah also likes the Jana Sena chief,” the BJP chief said.
Despite all these, there was no mention of JSP and Pawan during Amit Shah’s meeting state BJP leaders. Though a closed door meeting, certain sections of press has brought out that transpired at the meeting. It is very clear that the senior BJP leader didn’t mention JSP and nothing about the alliance. Since the roadmap for 2024 has been drawn at the meeting, it was important to take along JSP with them!