Fearful of a rout in Telangana, is the BJP going soft on Pawan Kalyan?

New Delhi: The fear of a possible washout in Telangana is making the Bharatiya Janata Party rethink its strategy for the crucial Assembly polls. In its attempts to garner allies, the saffron unit is now seemingly trying hard to woo Jana Sena Chief Pawan Kalyan.

BJP’s strong Hindutva pitch and its allegations of corruption against the K Chandrashekar Rao government have not been able to find much resonance amongst the voters. Interestingly, as per various surveys, the Congress is doing much better in the state and is expected to emerge as the chief opponent to the KCR-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi.

This has forced the saffron unit to rethink all possibilities, which includes seeking new allies for the forthcoming polls, sources said.

Jana Sena, which has a tie-up with BJP in Andhra Pradesh and is part of NDA, had recently announced that it will contest the forthcoming polls in Telangana on its own. Sources stated that Pawan Kalyan has informed the BJP leadership that his party would contest in at least 30 seats in the state.

It is understood that the party holds sway over a sizable population in at least 30 odd constituencies bordering Andhra Pradesh and aims to secure votes in these. However, this could adversely affect the already under-pressure BJP which is trying hard to emerge as a strong contender in the state.

Sources stated that this was the reason that BJP Telangana President G Kishan Reddy and BJP MP Lakshman met with Jana Sena Chief Pawan Kalyan, seeking his support in Telangana elections.

The meeting came after Pawan Kalyan declared that Jana Sena will contest seats in Telangana. The two NDA partners have not been seeing eye to eye over the past few months as Kalyan has been pushing for the entry of Telugu Desam Party Chief N Chandrababu Naidu into the saffron fold.

Interestingly, Pawan Kalyan also pointed out that Jana Sena worked for the victory of the BJP and Telugu Desam Party candidates during the Assembly polls in 2014.

“And also after a request from the senior leadership of the saffron party, the party did not contest in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporations,” the Jana Sena chief is learnt to have told the BJP leaders.  

Will the BJP also relook at NCBN's entry into NDA?

The latest meeting between the top BJP leadership and Jana Sena chief is understood to have opened the possibility of a relook at the entry of Telugu Desam Party Chief N Chandrababu Naidu back into the saffron fold.

Though the TDP had snapped ties with the BJP and exited the NDA in March 2018 over the demand for special status for Andhra Pradesh, it has now repeatedly shown a keenness to return to the saffron fold.

Earlier, actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan had approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a possible grand alliance, including the TDP, against the ruling YSR Congress Party in Andhra Pradesh.

However, the entry has so far been blocked by the top BJP leadership. And, sources stated, that any decision on NCBN’s re-entry into the NDA would need to wait till after the Assembly polls.  

Telangana is scheduled to go for polls on November 30 and the results will be declared on December 3.

The Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana are being treated by political parties as the semifinal for the 2024 general elections.

With 17 Lok Sabha seats, Telangana is an important part of the plan to secure additional seats for the Congress, which is aiming to dislodge the BJP from the Centre in 2024.