Jana Sena Party (JSP) chief Pawan Kalyan made his mark in electoral politics on Tuesday, sweeping 21 of the 21 MLA seats and two out of two MP seats his party contested in Andhra Pradesh as part of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.
The Telugu star won from the Pithapuram assembly seat becoming an elected leader for the first time. In an exclusive interview with CNN-News18, Kalyan said he expected a 98% strike rate, but that this is a huge win for JSP. He added that the party’s hard work paid off and its vote percentage doubled. Edited excerpts:
What’s next? Will you ask for the deputy CM post?
We will have a discussion soon after two days.
You don’t see yourself in the deputy CM’s chair?
We will explore all the possibilities at the right time. (Chandrababu) Naidu and I will decide on that.
What have been your key takeaways? Did you see this outcome for the NDA?
Not sure what went wrong in the north, I don’t have much idea. But our alliance worked because we didn’t split out votes. We worked together as Narendra Modi’s strength.
Did you have a word with the PM?
Not yet.
It seems the INDI Alliance is reaching out to Naidu. Will he stick together with the NDA?
We are totally committed to the NDA. There is no second thought.
What are your biggest learnings?
You have to bear humiliation, learnings, and grinding to reach here.
You let go of so many seats but was there any strategy in place?
We wanted people to benefit from this alliance. But there is huge potential. We sacrificed for the alliance.
So are you saying you won’t demand any ministry or any post for you and your MLAs?
I didn’t say I won’t ask anything for Jana Sena in the state government…We will play a key role.
What is your message to Jagan Mohan Reddy?
There is no personal rivalry. I don’t hate Jagan but people taught him a lesson.
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