Jana Sena Party president and Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan has virtually no stakes in Tamil Nadu, as his party has no existence there.
In fact, in Andhra Pradesh itself, he had to struggle for nearly 10 years to win the elections and get some recognition.
Yet, Pawan Kalyan tries to irritate the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu by making provocative statements and denouncing the DMK leaders’ comments against Sanatana Dharma and the saffron agenda.
Needless to say, he is fighting for the Bharatiya Janata Party agenda in the neighbouring state, since his party is an important alliance partner of the BJP.
Though Telugu Desam Party headed by chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, too, is a BJP ally, but Naidu never tries to poke his nose into the TN politics.
The other day, Pawan went to Madurai in Tamil Nadu to attend a Murugan devotees' conference.
Although the event was unrelated to politics, Pawan launched an indirect attack on DMK leaders, referring to past remarks made by Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin against “Sanatana Dharma.”
“A Christian can respect his religion, and so can a Muslim. But why is it a problem when a Hindu does the same?” questioned Pawan.
He declared that chanting Lord Murugan's name can drive away any enemy, taking an indirect dig at DMK’s ideological stance.
Naturally, Pawan’s comments irritated the DMK leaders. Reacting sharply to the Jana Sena chief remarks, state minister Sekar Babu questioned Pawan’s connection to Tamil Nadu.
“Who is Pawan Kalyan to question us? Don’t fall into BJP’s trap and promote religious politics.”
He challenged Pawan Kalyan to contest and win from a Tamil Nadu constituency in the 2026 assembly elections to earn the right to comment on state affairs.
Of course, Pawan Kalyan will definitely not contest the next year TN assembly elections, but there is every possibility that he will campaign for the BJP in the Telugu-dominated areas.
It will be interesting to see whether they are any takers for his dialogues in TN.
