Pawan Kalyan: From Power Star to Political Storm in Andhra Pradesh

The actor-politician Pawan Kalyan was introduced with a very unique remark, “Yeh Pawan nahi hai, aandhi hai” (He is not a breeze, but a storm) by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi that speaks greater volume of his capabilities as a member of parliament who has now sworn in as a minister in the Chandrababu Naidu- led Andhra Pradesh Cabinet. The remark made by the Prime Minister was applauded with thundrous applause and highlights Kalyan’s historic win in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Worth noticing and appreciating was Pawan Kalyan’s JSP’s victory from all the seats it contested.

After making his indelible mark in the Telugu film industry, Pawan made his entry into the mainframe politics. His journey in the film industry was quite remarkable and he had captivated the audience with his marvellous acting and most impressive persona. Born on September 2, 1971, in Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh, Pawan made his film debut in 1996 with his first film, ‘Akkada Ammayi Ikkada Abbayi’. Ever since then, he had no looking backsince his excellent and versatile performance has made him a very renonwned name in Tollywood. His journey to the stardom is due to the various roles he had performed, from a rebellious youth in ‘Thammudu’ to a vigilante in ‘Gabbar Singh’. Most of his films have thrown light on the social issues that reflects his strong convictions fetching him apprecitions and acclaim by the viewers.

His political journey

His political career began in the year 2008 when he joined his brother Chiranjeevi’s party, the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP). but he saw no luck in first political chapter as the party struggled hard to make any significant impact among the political frtaternity had to be merged in the Congress Part, thereby, putting his career to an end.

However, the failure did not break his morale. In fact he returned much stronger and stronger and founded his own party, the Jana Sena Party in 2014. The JSP supported the TDP-BJP alliance in 2014 when they emerged victorious even though the party did not contest in the elections that year. The 2019 elections brought the party a major setback when JSP contested the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Lok Sabha elections independently, winning only one seat with Kalyan losing in both the Assembly constituencies himself.

Also read: Pawan Kalyan, Nara Lokesh and Kinjarapu Atchannaidu Sworn In as Ministers in Chandrababu Naidu’s Andhra Cabinet

Despite losing, Kalyan has stayed firmly set all throughout his political journey. He has been very vocal about his view points and has opposed the ruling YSRCP and Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy on numerous occassions regarding the various issues. In the later part of 2022, Pawan launched ‘Jana Vani,’ which was a series of public meetings that were held with aim to address people’s grievances and find solutions to them that were in Kalyan’s capacity. His dedication towords the people and to public service despite the defeat in the 2019 elections, was noted to be unparalleled.

Forging a Powerful Alliance

It was Kalyan’s continuous hard work which has paid off and he had been successful in bringing the TDP, JSP and BJP together in a formidable alliance working in tandem witih each other resulting into the recent formation of government. However, there were a few oppositions from the BJP leaders, Kalyan’s efforts became significant in the pre-poll alliance announcement that took place in March. The success of the alliance has been able to reshape the political dynamics of Andhra Pradesh most significantly.

A milestone in Kalyan’s political career has been achieved with his ministerial oath on Wednesday in the N Chandrababu Naidu Cabinet. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Amit Shah and many other dignitaries graced the swearing-in-ceremnoy that was held at Kesarapalli IT Park in Gannavaram Mandal. Chandrababu Naidu has assumed the role of Chief Minister in Andhra Pradesh for the fourth time. He became the CM in 1995 for the first time and has been leading the state until 2004.