Pawan Kalyan: From reel hero to real hero of NDA’s win

While TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu will become the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh for the fourth time and play the role of king maker after BJP’s poor show, it was Jana Sena chief and actor Pawan Kalyan who emerged from reel to real hero in the saga of NDA’s return to power in the state.
Eight months ago, Naidu was arrested in a corruption case by the YSRCP and languished in jail for 52 days before finally getting bail from the Supreme Court.
However, it was Pawan Kalyan who first came out firmly in the support of the beleaguered leader, stood outside the Rajahmundry Central jail after meeting Naidu and announced his decision to ally with the TDP, throwing in the lifeline to the party at the time of a major crisis.
Afterwards as an NDA ally, he convinced the BJP to include the TDP and when the national party which had less than one per cent vote demanded more number of seats he sacrificed his own party’s interest for the larger good.
BJP managed to get six LS seats and 10 Assembly seats while the Jana Sena Party (JSP) fought only 2 LS seats and 21 Assembly seats only to ensure that the anti-YSRCP vote did not get divided.
In 2019, JSP had fought alone and won only one seat but this time Pawan Kalyan ensured a phenomenal strike rate, winning all the 21 seats that the party contested. After a humiliating defeat from two constituencies last time, Pawan Kalyan won the Pithapuram seat this time with a majority of more than 70,000 votes.
Pawan Kalyan also fought against slander as YSRCP called him the “call sheet politician” because of his parallel career as a film hero and also “the adopted son of Chandrababu Naidu.” His private life was often discussed as YSRCP leaders, including YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, took a dig at him for his multiple marriages. Pawan Kalyan, brother of megastar Chiranjeevi, goes by the moniker Power star for his fans in the two Telugu states.