ONGOLE: After a few weeks of silence, former minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy who recently joined the Jana Sena in the presence of party chief and Deputy Chief Minister K Pawan Kalyan, came to the fore of political discussions in Prakasam district.
The five-time MLA was reportedly called by JSP president Pawan Kalyan for exclusive political discussions on various issues, including his role in the party. It is learnt that the former minister is likely to land a key role as Pawan Kalyan is said to have been interested in giving him the reins of State-level party activities to best utilise his decades-long political experience. Similarly, the followers of Balineni from Ongole are under the impression that their leader will get a focused position in the coming days.
However, the political dynamics are still ‘unsettled’ as the NDA partner, TDP unit of Ongole, and also Jana Sena Praksam unit is still unhappy about welcoming Balineni into the Jana Sena fold. The local leaders of both the parties are opposing his involvement in the coalition government activities in his personal capacity as well.
It may be recalled that the former minister, with the support of a few key Jana Sena leaders from Nellore and Hyderabad, managed to join the party in the presence of Pawan Kalyan, even when key politicians of the region, including TDP Ongole MLA Damacharla Janardhan Rao and JSP district president Shaik Riyaz, opposed his entry into the ranks.
Despite his joining, the JSP high command reportedly asked the former YSRC minister to stay silent for a few weeks until further intimation, citing the opposition from the TDP and JSP rank and file over Balineni’s previous actions against them. The cadres even publicly announced that they would not leave Balineni regarding his alleged corruption and illegal activities.
To the surprise of his political opponents, Balineni, along with another Vijayawada-based businessman, met the Jana Sena president and discussed his role in the party, where Pawan Kalyan assured him of using his services both as a politician and a policy maker, in view of his experience as a Cabinet minister previously in YS Rajasekhar Reddy’s government and YS Jagan’s government.
“We came to know that JSP chief Pawan Kalyan has assured a key position for our leader in the coming days. We are expecting a nominated post or a State/region-level post in the party soon. It will boost the JSP’s prospects in all the upcoming elections across the State, especially in the Prakasam, Nellore, and Bapatla districts for sure,” a close follower of Balineni told TNIE.
However, the NDA partners-TDP, BJP and a few of the JSP leaders of the district are not happy with the latest political developments, particularly the allegations and criticism over one another by the TDP and JSP leaders regarding the Balineni’s entry into the JSP.
On the other hand, the JSP high command is reportedly planning to appoint new in-charges, coordinators and district presidents for the Prakasam, Bapatla, and Guntur districts. “Our party chief is serious about strengthening the party from village to district-level and we came to know that leaders from Kapu community are likely to be considered for these posts. Party high command intends to appoint a newly joined Kapu leader for Prakasam district as president,” local JSP leader said.