'Pawan nahi aandhi hai': PM-elect Narendra Modi praises 'Power Star' Pawan Kalyan at NDA meet

Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi on Friday was all praises for Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan at the NDA parliamentary party meeting held in Delhi. In the Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections, Kalyan contested from the Pithapuram seat and won. 

In a now-viral clip from the NDA parliamentary meet, PM-designate Modi praised the actor-politician. Modi said, "Babu told me that it is all-time historical mandate of Andhra Pradesh. This Pawan Kalyan is not Pawan but Aandhi (storm)." 

Kalyan, in his speech, thanked Modi and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu.

"We want to see Modiji to rule this country for 15 years and it's happening. Chandrababu ji, your prophecy came true. Modi ji, you truly inspire the nation. As long as you are the Prime Minister of the country, our country will never bow down to anyone," Kalyan said. 

Pawan Kalyan's role in turning the tide

Much like his movies, Pawan Kalyan was the much-needed saviour for the TDP and the BJP when it came to elections. Kalyan, also known as 'Power Star', made significant strides in bringing the TDP and the BJP together to arrest the Jagan Mohan Reddy juggernaut and  also to score big gains in Lok Sabha polls.

His efforts to forge an alliance between the TDP and the BJP began 8 months back when Chandrababu Naidu was jailed by the then YSR Congress government in connection with the alleged skill development scam. Naidu was in jail for over 50 days before the Supreme Court granted him bail. 

When Naidu was in Rajahmundry Central jail, Kalyan stood outside after meeting Naidu and announced his intention to ally with the party, helping boost the morale of the TDP workers. 

Later, Kalyan convinced BJP to join hands with the TDP for the 2024 election season. After the BJP came into the picture, Kalyan compromised on seat-sharing as he took only 21 assembly and 2 Lok Sabha seats. 

Kalyan worked as the glue that bound the voters of the Kapu and Kammas communities in Andhra Pradesh to the TDP-BJP alliance. He also attracted young voters to campaign rallies and polling booths. His family members, including Varun Tej, Sai Dharma Tej and Vaishnav Teja, campaigned for him in the Pithapuram Assembly seat. 

Andhra Pradesh election results

In the 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly elections, the Jana Sena Party won all the seats they got as part of the seat-sharing agreement with the TDP and the BJP. In the Assembly elections, the Jana Sena Party won all the 21 seats it contested this time. The TDP won 135 seats whereas the BJP bagged 8 seats this time. 

Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSR Congress was decimated to 11 assembly seats. 

In the Lok Sabha elections, the Jana Sena won 2 seats it got as part of the seat-sharing deal. The TDP bagged 16 whereas the BJP got 3 out of the 25 seats. The YSR Congress was reduced to just 4 seats.