Tough task ahead for JSP-BJP combine

Is actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena Party in Andhra Pradesh going his star brother Chiranjeevi's PRP way? Jana Sena president Pawan Kalyan who has been saying that he sacrificed everything and plunged into politics with a 25-year vision and would stay put at any cost seems to be losing his nerve at a very fast pace.

Political circles say that the BJP had been insisting for an outright merger, but Pawan was not ready for it as it would have meant complete exit from the political scenario of Andhra Pradesh. But then observers say that it is only a matter of time before the two parties merge.

There is another section which feels that knowing the temperament of Pawan Kalyan, the alliance would always be in doubt as no one knows when he would change his mind and walk out. Before 2019 elections, he said he was a communist by ideology and donned red scarf in all his meetings and joined hands with Left parties.

He gave a call for uniting all southern States which did not find any takers. He joined hands with Mayawati which did not help him in anyway.

Interestingly, now he says he was with the BJP much before joining hands with the Left and has started showering praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi whom he accused of giving rotten laddoos to the State. The million dollar question is can he gel with saffron ecosystem?

The BJP, which made a tall claim that in 2024 they would come to power in Andhra Pradesh in alliance with Jana Sena perhaps felt that Pawan's filmi glamour and fan club could help them in mobilising crowds for their meetings.

But then if they expect that Pawan will be able to convert his popularity into votes, they are in for big disappointment. The 2019 elections have clearly demonstrated that being fans of Pawan does not mean that they will vote for him. At the most, he could be used by the BJP as a face to ramp itself up in Andhra Pradesh.

The BJP seems to have moved in a very strategic manner and did not want to give an impression that Pawan was a big force in Andhra Pradesh. That is why after deliberations at various levels, the BJP high command asked Pawan to go back to the State, hold a meeting with State unit and then announce the alliance.

"We did not ask him to join us, we agreed to take him into our fold since he wanted to work with us," is what the BJP can now say and thereby it has created an exit route in case Pawan decides to distance himself at any stage in future. It is like banks asking the borrowers to take insurance to protect the loan money in case something happens to the borrower.

But then what is surprising is that the ruling party which has 151 members in the State Assembly is exhibiting some nervousness. With the kind of landslide majority it has, the party need not give so much importance to this new alliance.

The fact is whatever one might say, the people are still not so much against the government. Yes, it is a fact that there is some unhappiness over the style of functioning of the government following certain decisions taken by the YSRCP in last seven months.

Apparently, the YSRCP now feels that if the Kamal Sena launches a campaign against the government and it if it is strongly backed by the Centre, it could damage the image of the government.

It also feels that at a time when the ruling party is trying to decimate TDP, this alliance could give a new lease of life to the yellow party. The TDP still has its vote share intact and may get benefitted if all the three take up issue based campaigns and agitations on issues like shifting of capital.

What if the Centre puts spokes into the proposal to shift the capital city from Amravati? It is this fear that has forced the YSRCP to go overboard in criticising the alliance of BJP and Jana Sena.

The Kamal Sena now needs to tell the people that they are the alternative and for that they will have to hit the roads to expose the omissions and commissions of the government.

All eyes now would be on these alliance partners and it remains to be seen if they will try to compete with TDP which had gained some political advantage by standing by the people of 29 villages who have been fighting against the decision of the government to shift the capital.

The State BJP as well as Pawan are known for making strong statements without jumping into action under the guise of being responsible parties. No party can win the confidence of the people unless it remains with the people and among the people.

If BJP really aims at emerging as a strong party by 2024, it certainly needs a strong leader who can show aggressiveness when required. The biggest draw back for the BJP is that it lacks such leaders in both the Telugu States.

However, insiders say that the Kamal Sena partnership can result in a win-win situation. They say that is not an overnight development. The BJP was miffed with the TDP after its exit from NDA and indulged in a high voltage campaign against BJP and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

To defeat the TDP, observers say it had a sort of secret understanding with Pawan Kalyan and made him take anti TDP stand during elections. The seeds for alliance were laid at that time, analysts aver.

May or may not be true, but now both the BJP and the Jana Sena will have to try hard to lift their respective parties from the political quagmire.

The issue of how fast they would act on the issue of shifting of capital and to what extent they would succeed in stalling it would be the first indicator of how successful the Kamal Sena alliance would be.