Janasena’s activities in Andhra Pradesh have almost come to a standstill since the pandemic. But Pawan Kalyan’s clarion call to party supporters asking them to distribute oxygen cylinders to Corona patients on a large scale was hailed by all. Many service programs by the party also continued unabated during the unprecedented crisis. However, the Janasenani was away from party programs in an official capacity. Now, looks like the recent victory of BJP candidate Raghunandan Rao in the Dubbaka by-election in Telangana has created a sense of excitement in the Janasena as well. Why is Janasena excited over BJP candidate’s win?
It is known that the Janasena and BJP have teamed up in Andhra Pradesh, and have decided to field only one candidate from either party, whenever elections are held. Also, the leaders of both parties are work hard to achieve victory. In Tirupati, the sudden death of YSRCP MP Balli Durga Prasad Rao necessitated the bypolls. Now, the focus of all-party leaders is on the by-election to the Tirupati Parliament.
Will Janasena field a candidate in Tirupati?
If we look at the current scenario, Janasena is considerably strong than the BJP in Tirupati. Earlier in 2009 when Chiranjeevi, the founder of Praja Rajyam Party, had contested from two assembly seats – Tirupathi and Palakollu (West Godavari District). Though the megastar had lost from his own constituency of Palakollu, he won from Tirupati because of his fans. Now, Janasena which has been founded by his younger brother enjoys a good following in Tirupati. Hence, it is appropriate to field a Janasena party candidate than the BJP. An emergency meeting has been called on November 17th in Mangalagiri, by the Janasena to discuss the future plans in this regard. Already, Pawan Kalyan who is busy in a 45-day shoot for Vakeel Saab has cancelled his shoot on the 17th. The name of the Tirupati candidate is likely to be finalized in the Mangalagiri meeting.
Janasena chief on the prowl for Tirupati candidate
Janasena has good voter support in all the seven Tirupati Parliamentary constituencies with an estimated voter turnout of 18% in the region. On the contrary, the BJP might not even get over 2% of the votes in the Tirupati parliamentary constituency. Given the circumstances, it would be better for the Janasena to field a candidate in the Tirupati Lok Sabha by-election. If we recall the 2019 Assembly elections in AP, the Janasena had garnered 21 lakh votes whereas the BJP managed to get just two lakh votes. With 7% votes, the Janasena ended up being the third-largest party in Andhra.
It is expected that this time, the Janasena might contest in Tirupati with the support of BJP. Interestingly, the TDP supremo looks forward to striking a chord with the Janasena and if that happens the TDP might not announce its candidate from Tirupati. Finally, as expected if the TDP supports Janasena then this will not be an easy task for the YSRCP in the upcoming Tirupati Lok Sabha bypolls.