It was Pawan Kalyan who was hellbent on having the BJP in the alliance right from the start. We have seen him speak highly about the BJP on all stages in the public. He took Chandrababu Naidu to Delhi even though the latter was keen on having a post-poll alliance.
There were doubts if the BJP would be honest in this alliance and truly work for the alliance.
Meanwhile, the seat-sharing talks between the three parties ended up throwing a shocker to the Janasena supporters.
They were just coming to terms with the reality of 24 seats but BJP grabbed three MLA seats and one MP seat from Janasena’s tally.
Janasena is now left only with 21 MLA seats and 2 MP seats.
TDP also gave up one MLA seat to the BJP.
BJP is now contesting in 10 MLA seats and 6 MP seats.
That means Janasena which has about 6% Vote Share in the 2019 election is contesting in 21 seats while BJP which is just at 0.7% Vote Share is contesting in ten.
Janasena cadre is very much depressed about this. And the next danger will be the seat from where Pawan Kalyan will contest.
There are reports that the BJP high command is asking Pawan Kalyan to contest only for the Parliament and not to the Assembly promising to make him a Central Minister.
It will be a suicidal step if Pawan Kalyan contests for only Parliament or from two seats (From Parliament and Assembly).
If Pawan Kalyan contests for Parliament, it will send a wrong signal that he is not confident of the future prospects in the Assembly.
Janasena supporters are already disappointed and it will further deject them. They will have no motivation to come out and vote.
This will severely hinder the Pawan Kalyan’s target of Jagan-Mukt Andhra Pradesh.
Political Experts say this is a ploy by the BJP high command. After strategically weakening Janasena, the BJP will pressure Pawan Kalyan to merge the party.
The current BJP has no love for its allies. They are only keen on strengthening their party. We have seen what they did for SAD in Punjab, TDP in Andhra Pradesh, and Shiva Sena in Maharashtra. Pawan Kalyan should stop believing the BJP high command loves him a lot.
If at all, the BJP has a real love for Pawan Kalyan, they can take him into the Union Cabinet by sending him to Rajya Sabha later if necessary.
For now, in the interests of Pawan Kalyan’s political future, the Janasena, the alliance, and the Andhra Pradesh, it will be better if Pawan Kalyan contests from a Single strong seat. Contesting for Parliament or from two seats will be suicidal.
The alliance with the BJP should be confined only to ensure there is neutrality in this election or in reining the YSR Congress from resorting to arson in the election, it is better the expectations are in check to that extent.
