‘Pawan Nahi, Aandhi Hai’: PM Modi’s High Praise For JanaSena Chief Pawan Kalyan For Ushering ‘Tsunami Of Votes’ For NDA In Andhra
Janasena chief Pawan Kalyan was sworn-in as a minister in the cabinet of new Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and is now tipped to be given the Deputy Chief Minister's post -- as mentioned by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in a congratulatory post on his X handle.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently showered high praise upon JanaSena chief Pawan Kalyan, describing him as a “storm” who ushered in a tsunami of votes for the BJP-led NDA in Andhra Pradesh and ensured the alliance swept both Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the state.
“Pawan nahi hai, aandhi hai (he (Kalyan) is not a mere breeze but a fierce storm), Modi had said following the, Andhra Pradesh Assembly election results, while asserting that the actor-politician has lived to that billing in the just-concluded polls.
On Wednesday, Pawan Kalyan was sworn-in as a minister in the cabinet of new Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and is now tipped to be given the Deputy Chief Minister’s post — as mentioned by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in a congratulatory post on his X handle.
“Congratulations to Andhra Pradesh…Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan…” Shah wrote on X.
Kalyan is largely credited for stitching together the NDA alliance of TDP, BJP and Janasena in Andhra Pradesh, which ultimately emerged triumphant with a landslide victory, sweeping 164 of 175 assembly seats, and 21 of 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Who is Pawan Kalyan?
Actor-turned politician Pawan Kalyan began his political journey with his older brother, Chiranjeevi, who entered the political arena in 2008 when he founded the Praja Rajyam party. Kalyan was in-charge of raja Rajyam’s youth wing ‘Yuvarajyam’ but the party failed at the hustings in the 2009 elections.
The 2009 elections witnessed a triangular contest between the Y S Rajasekhar Reddy-led Congress, N Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and Chiranjeevi-led Praja Rajyam. The polls turned out to be a disastrous outing for Chiranjeevi’s party which soon merged with the Congress.
Following the 2009 drubbing, Kalyan remained aloof from active politics for a while before founding the Janasena party in 2014.
Though Kalyan did not contest the 2014 elections, he extended outside support to the NDA alliance of TDP and BJP, providing some tailwind to their triumph.
The Tollywood actor contested the 2019 elections but faced a debacle, losing all the seats except one, the Razole assembly seat.
However, Pawan Kalyan, 55, turned out to be a major player in the Lok Sabha Election 2024, garnering a tsunami of votes for the BJP-led NDA in Andhra Pradesh and playing a key role in the alliance sweeping both Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the state.
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