Why did Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan and BJP AP state president Somu Veerraju meet suddenly in a Vijayawada hotel for well over two hours in a Vijayawada hotel? While both the parties have not come out with any statement, the meeting is quite significant as it has come at a time when the relations between the two parties are developing severe strains and there are reports that the Jana Sena is looking towards the TDP.

If highly placed sources are to be believed, both the parties wanted to show that they are united despite the differences. They also wanted to send a clear message that they may not move closer to the TDP anytime soon. That the meeting was attended by the likes of BJP co-convener Sunil Deodhar, senior leader Daggubati Purandeswari and Jana Sena’s Nadendla Manohar shows that this was no mere courtesy meet. Sources say this was a clear signal that the leaders of the two parties want to stay together and also that there is no immediate chance of an alignment with the TDP as was being speculated in a section of media.

Sources said that any realignment of political forces such as joining hands with the TDP is not going to prove useful at this juncture. The Jana Sena wants to adopt a wait-and-watch approach for some more time. The alignment, if any, would be feasible only in 2023, the Jana Sena thinking heads feel. The BJP and Jana Sena for now have reportedly decided to launch common programmes to counter the YSRCP.

Ever since the Tirupati debacle, distance has grown between the two parties. Both have been organizing programmes separately. Post the recent visit of BJP incharge Shiv Prakash Singh and his stern message to the party leadership, the BJP state president has gone into an active mode again. This meeting is being said to be a part of this new-found activism. What common programmes the two parties would come up with in AP remains to be seen.

Jana Senani Pawan Kalyan has launched a scathing attack on the Jagan Reddy Government on the issue of shortage of oxygen and Covid treatment facilities. He asked why the Government was failing to provide beds and ambulances to the people in their hour of need. He mocked the statements of the Chief Minister, saying that the people also need the Covid treatment facilities but not just internet and goats.

Senani has criticised and asked what the Government was doing when the virus patients were losing their lives for lack of timely treatment and medicines. How can an average family afford to buy the remdesivir injections when they are sold at over Rs. 40,000 each? Each injection’s original cost is just Rs. 2,250. The blackmarketing is going on unchecked but nobody is trying to stop this.

Pawan Kalyan advised the AP rulers not to turn the State into Rome and not to turn themselves into a kind of Emperor Nero. The rulers have boasted that thousands of ambulances have been made available to the general public. But now, the ground situation is that they are not able to rush the needy patients to the hospitals in time.

The Jana Sena could not get expected results in the panchayat polls considering the local level factors there and also because of the YCP’s aggressive efforts. But still, there has been some satisfaction among the candidates that the party has won a considerable number of panchayats despite many obstacles.

When it comes to the municipal elections, it is going to be a totally different game. The voters are more educated and well equipped to face the election violations by the ruling party. Right from the beginning, Pawan Kalyan has got some hold on the urban areas because of his charisma, fan following and the presence of large number of Kapu voters in towns and cities.

Keeping this factor in view, the Jana Sena cadres have become active ahead of the municipal polls. Many candidates are coming forward to contest on behalf of the Jana Sena in municipalities and municipal corporations. Especially, there has been a lot of enthusiasm from the party cadres in Tirupati, Guntur, Vijayawada, Rajahmundry and Visakhapatnam.

On the other hand, the TDP is also getting activated with its leadership deciding to leave no stone unturned in taking on the ruling YCP candidates. The party is expecting lesser chances for the YCP managers to manipulate the counting and final results.

With both Naidu and Pawan getting high hopes, the civic polls are indeed going to be a mini assembly election in AP in the coming days.