Pawan Kalyan to contest from Pithapuram in Andhra election after BJP-TDP-JSP pact
Pawan Kalyan in 2019 state assembly election contested from Gajuwaka and Bhimavaram and lost from both.
Jana Sena Party chief and Telugu superstar Pawan Kalyan on Thursday announced that he would be contesting from Pithapuram in the Andhra Pradesh assembly election which is also scheduled to be held this year. Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena Party has entered an alliance with Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam in the state and the BJP in the Centre for both the state and the Lok Sabha election. But Pawan Kalyan announced he prefers to contest from the state. In 2019, Pawan Kalyan contested from two seats -- Gajuwaka and Bhimavaram but lost both to the YSRC candidates.
In the seat-sharing deal for the Lok Sabha and the assembly election, BJP gets 6 Lok Sabha seats and 10 assembly seats to fight in Andhra Pradesh; TDP will fight 17 Lok Sabha and 144 assembly seats; Pawan Kalyan's party got two Lok Sabha and 21 assembly seats to fight.
Andhra Pradesh has 25 Lok Sabha and 175 Assembly seats.
After the seat-sharing pact, the three parties issued a joint statement reposing faith in the 'dynamic and visionary leadership' of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Narendra Modi ji has been working tirelessly for the development and progress of the nation for the last 10 years and coming together with TDP and JSP will help in reaching the aspirations of the people of Andhra Pradesh. The BJP and the TDP have a very old relationship together. TDP joined NDA in 1996 and has worked together successfully in Aal Ji's and Narendra Modi Ji's government. In 2014, the TDP and the BJP fought the Lok Sabha election and assembly election together. The JSP had supported the 2014 general ad assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh," the statement read.
Pithapuram Assembly constituency falls under Andhra Pradesh's Kakinada district and is presently represented by YSRC.
Chiranjeevi's brother Pawan Kalyan entered politics in 2008 as the youth wing president of Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam Party. In 2014, Pawan Kalyan floated the Jana Sena Party but did not contest the elections that year. In 2019, Jana Sena contested in the election and won only one seat with Pawan Kalyan losing both seats that he contested from.
