He said the JSP would only consider alliances with Left parties.
Telugu film star-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan has said his Jana Sena Party (JSP) would not re-enter an alliance with the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and would contest all 175 seats in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections, which are scheduled to be held alongside the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Pawan Kalyan, referred to as 'Power Star' by his fans, issued a statement that was tweeted out by his party on Thursday. "Jana Sena is contesting in all the 175 seats. We will not ally with anyone other than the Left. We will give young people and women more opportunities. Please do not believe the words of the ruling party and the opposition. We condemn their statements," read the tweet.
The statement came in response to hints dropped by TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu days earlier that he had asked Pawan Kalyan to join forces against the BJP. The remarks had been interpreted at the time as an indication that Jana Sena would resume its alliance with the TDP.
The JSP had joined the TDP-BJP alliance ahead of the 2014 elections, just months after it had been formed. However, JSP had pulled its support for the TDP early in 2018, with Pawan Kalyan accusing the Naidu government of corruption.
In a video message released by the party, Pawan Kalyan explained his decision to ally with the TDP and the BJP in 2014, saying he had felt that was the need of the hour at the time. He also accused the other parties of spreading such falsehoods in a bid to confuse JSP supporters.
The JSP is considered to have significant levels of support from the powerful Kapu community, to which Pawan Kalyan belongs. His elder brother, Telugu cinema mega star Chiranjeevi, had launched the Praja Rajya Party (PRP) in 2008, which was perceived to have support from the Kapus. The PRP had polled 18 percent of the vote in the 2009 Assembly election. However, he had merged the PRP with the Congress in 2011, and has maintained a very low profile since the Congress's demolition in the state in the 2014 elections.
It is presumably the same Kapu support base that Pawan Kalyan is looking to take advantage of. The community, the dominant land-owning one in parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, is estimated to make up about 17 percent of the population.
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 "Pawan Kalyan announced that his Jana Sena Party would contest all 175 seats in the coming elections.")
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