PK: JSP has taken first step in T'gana

By winning two seats in municipal elections in Telangana, the Jana Sena has taken the first step in the land where it took birth, party President and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan said on Sunday.

He congratulated Aruri Vijayalakshmi and Aggu Sagar, who were elected as a councillor and a corporator, respectively.

The Jana Sena, which contested 332 seats in the recently held elections, won a seat each in a municipality and a corporation.

Vijayalakshmi has been elected from one of the wards in Nereducharla Municipality in Nalgonda district.

Aggu Sagar has been elected as a corporator in Mancherial Municipal Corporation.

Pawan Kalyan said they laid a foundation for a strong future of the party in Telangana, noting that even a big tree grows from a tiny seed.

According to Jana Sena’s Telangana unit leaders, the party candidates came second in five places and third in 47 wards.

They said the Jana Sena outperformed all or one of the top three parties in 16 per cent (54) of contested wards.

Ruling Congress, and the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are the top three parties in Telangana.

Jana Sena is a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The party led by the actor-politician is sharing power with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the BJP in Andhra Pradesh.

The Jana Sena fielded the candidates in Telangana municipal elections on its own after the BJP made it clear that it would not have an alliance with any party.

Contesting wards in 11 districts, the maximum number of candidates fielded by the party was 48 in Nizamabad district, followed by 46 in Nalgonda, 44 in Mahabubnagar, and 39 in Adilabad.

Elections for 116 municipalities and seven municipal corporations in Telangana were held on February 11.

Jana Sena had announced that Pawan Kalyan will campaign for Jana Sena and BJP candidates on February 7 and 8.

However, the visit was cancelled. While the sources in Jana Sena said that it was cancelled because of a minor health issue, it triggered speculation that it could be because of some remarks made by Pawan Kalyan about Telangana in December last year.

Telangana Cinematography Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy had warned that Pawan Kalyan's movies would not be allowed to be released in theatres in Telangana if he failedto apologise over his "insulting" remarks about Telangana.

The Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister had blamed the "evil eye" for "dying" coconut trees in the development of the Konaseema region, known for lush green fields. He was apparently referring to the bifurcation of the state.

Leaders of different parties in Telangana had demanded an apology from Pawan Kalyan.

The Jana Sena had said that the statement of its leader was distorted.