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Journalism of Courage
While there might not be clarity on the status of their alliance in Andhra Pradesh, the Jana Sena Party (JSP) and BJP have begun seat-sharing talks for the forthcoming polls in neighbouring Telangana. Actor-turned-politician K Pawan Kalyan, who heads the JSP, met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday.
BJP sources talking to The Indian Express said that Telangana BJP chief and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy has been tasked with “accommodating Kalyan’s request to contest from a few seats in Telangana ”. Kalyan was is in Delhi along with JSP’s political affairs committee chairman Nadendla Manohar. Shah is scheduled to come to Hyderabad on Friday. The discussions are expected to go on till then.
“We are looking at constituencies where Pawan Kalyan’s appeal may swing the vote in favour of the JSP. In spite of long talks, we have not arrived at a decision. We will perhaps reach a conclusion when senior party leaders meet Amit Shah again,’’ a BJP leader said.
This is the second time that Telangana BJP and JSP leaders are holding talks over seat-sharing; Kalyan had met Kishan Reddy last week over the issue.
On September 14, days after Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu was arrested in the alleged Andhra Pradesh Skill Development Corporation scam, Kalyan announced a tie-up with the TDP in Andhra Pradesh to contest the Assembly elections in the state that are scheduled for next year. Kalyan has been pitching for a “grand alliance” against the Jagan dispensation, expressing interest in the BJP joining them.
Following this, on October 4, Kalyan announced that the JSP will contest in 32 Assembly constituencies on its own in Telangana. A majority of these constituencies are urban and are located in and around Hyderabad; few are in the Khammam and Nalgonda districts. The JSP is mainly seeking to contest in the Kukatpally, Uppal, LB Nagar, Malkajgiri, Serilingampally, Patancheru, Qutubullapur, and Sanathnagar constituencies in Hyderabad.
This JSP was in the fray in Telangana for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls elections, contesting in 5 seats. However, it drew a blank.
While the JSP has very little political base in Telangana, the actor has a huge fan base.
A BJP source said the JSP was looking at reaching out to Andhra Pradesh natives.
