It’s U-turn for Pawan towards two Telugu CMs

Hyderabad: After greeting Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, praising him sky high for his 24 hour power supply scheme to farmers and later expressing his support to the TRS chief’s concept of federal front on January 1 this year, Jana Sena president Pawan Kalyan entered his home turf Andhra Pradesh a few days ago where he spewed verbal venom on AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, heaped allegations of corruption against his son Lokesh at fourth anniversary of his party in Guntur.

For Pawan Kalyan’s watchers, it looked odd that KCR with whom he did not see eye to eye and against whom he had used uncharitable words and drew rebuke from him in equal measure from him, should suddenly become his friend and Naidu with whom he teamed up and helped him win the 2014 elections in AP, become his arch rival. 

On the first foundation day meeting in 2014, delivering a blockbuster address from HICC here, he built strong argument why one should consider him a Telanganite though he was actually born in Andhra and had no kind words for KCR or his daughter Kavitha.

He asked her to keep her accounts for Telangana Jagruti ready as there were reports of misuse of funds collected for propagation of Telangana culture under its banner. “Amma Kavithamma, you are like my sister but keep the accounts ready.

You do not have to show them to me, but you will have to show them to the people of Telangana,” he said and took potshots at KCR saying that Bangaru Telangana would not materialise by using abusive language against people of Seemandhra region.

Four years on, Pawan Kalyan is a different man. On January 1, he went to KCR’s residence – Pragati Bhavan, and waited for him as the Chief Minister was at Raj Bhavan. After arrival, both of them were closeted for more than 40 minutes.

Emerging from the meeting, he showered praises on KCR saying that he was spell bund when KCR had explained to him how 24 hour power supply to farmers became possible. Pawan Kalyan had supported all his other policies like enhancement of reservations for the STs and the Minorities. A few days later, he said he expressed his solidarity with the federal front that KCR has espoused.

Now Pawan Kalyan is in Amaravati, with the sole aim of taking Chandrababu Naidu to cleaners. At the party’s fourth foundation day a few days ago, Pawan Kalyan spent a major part of his time, hitting out at Naidu and his son N Lokesh, accusing the latter of indulging in corruption. He tore into the way Chandrababu Naidu had dealt with the issue of providing reservations to the Kapus after including them in the Backward Classes.

Pawan Kalyan said that Naidu knew that it would not be possible to declare them as BCs and yet he had passed a bill in the Assembly providing five per cent reservations to them after declaring them as backward classes on the basis of recommendation of Manjunath Commission which itself was entangled in a controversy. “Naidu knew that the bill sent to Delhi would get stuck and yet he did it. By doing so he had created a rift between the Kapus and BCs,” Pawan Kalyan said.

Interestingly, in 20014, Pawan Kalyan and KCR did not see eye to eye. They hated each other. Four years on, Pawan Kalyan hates Chandrababu Naidu and minces no words in attacking him. Politics make strange bed fellows.