VIJAYAWADA: With Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan hinting at an alliance with the TDP, YSRC general secretary Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy on Monday came up with a poser to the chiefs of the two parties on who would be the Chief Minister if the alliance comes to power in the State in the next elections.
“TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu says he is ready for any sacrifice. Does it mean he is ready to give away the CM post to Pawan Kalyan? At the same time, Naidu is saying that he will lead the alliance. Pawan Kalyan, on the other hand, says he will become the Chief Minister. How can the State have two Chief Ministers then?’’ Sajjala questioned.
He wanted the BJP State chief Somu Veerraju, whose party is having an alliance with Jana Sena, to clear the air on the issue. Sajjala said there are three parties in the fray, apart from the YSRC in the State. “When you (Pawan Kalyan) vow not to allow split of anti-YSRC vote, does it mean that all the three parties will forge an alliance? While one says he is ready for any sacrifice, the other asserts that he will be the CM. The third one questions as to why should they ally with the other (TDP),’’ Sajjala said, adding that the parties lacked clarity.
Sajjala hit back at Pawan Kalyan saying that he had been working under the screenplay and direction of Naidu. “There has been a clear understanding between Pawan Kalyan and Naidu since 2014. Pawan Kalyan acts as per the scheme, script and direction of Naidu and that was why he never questioned the misrule of previous TDP government,’’ he said.
The YSRC leader said Pawan Kalyan worked to ensure that the anti-government vote split in favour of TDP in 2019 and now he wants that there is no split in anti-YSRC vote and is working in that direction. “It is a fact that the TDP, JSP and BJP are trying to fool the people. They can expose the misgovernance, if any, or tell the people what they will do if they come to power. Instead, they are only criticising the YSRC government,’’ he alleged.