Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi met actor Pawan Kalyan in Visakhapatnam on 11th November, sparking rumours of a mending of troubled ties with BJP’s ally in Andhra Pradesh, the Jana Sena Party (JSP), of which the actor is chief. Pawan Kalyan, whose party is understood to be getting closer to N. Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP, told the press that he had conveyed to the PM whatever needed to be told in such a situation.
Although details of the meeting are not known, it is believed that Pawan Kalyan complained to Modi about the state government allegedly misusing the police and targeting opposition leaders. He is said to have also briefed him about a recent instance of the police allegedly preventing him from holding party meetings in Visakhapatnam.
Reportedly, the actor-politician had prepared a long note for his meeting with the PM, the first between the two since they met ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The actor launched his JSP on March 14, 2014, a month before the elections, and subsequently announced his party’s support to the BJP. The alliance was extended to the TDP later. Pawan has already asked the BJP leadership to give him a roadmap for the 2024 general elections, which includes an alliance of the BJP, JSP and TDP.