Pawan Kalyan
Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan recently announced that his Jana Sena Party (JSP) would contest the 2028 Telangana assembly elections, triggering considerable political debate across the two Telugu-speaking states. At first glance, the actor-politician's declaration appears to be a routine expression of electoral ambition. However, leaders in Telangana, particularly from the Congress and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) have questioned both the timing and implications of his remarks. The ensuing war of words has brought to the surface unresolved political and emotional fault lines that continue to influence public discourse more than a decade after the creation of Telangana through the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014. Beyond the rhetoric, the debate raises important political questions: Can the "Power Star" successfully establish a meaningful presence for the Jana Sena in Telangana? And in pursuing that goal, does he risk upsetting his ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)?
Pawan Kalyan: From ‘Power Star’ to deputy CM
Pawan Kalyan did not begin his political journey with Jana Sena. He entered politics in 2008 through the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP), founded by his elder brother and fellow film star, Chiranjeevi.
Following PRP's merger with the Congress in 2011, Kalyan stepped away from active politics before launching JSP in March 2014.
Pawan Kalyan political journey
Kalyan formally allied with the BJP in January 2020. Yet, electoral success remained elusive until April 2024, when the alliance of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), JSP and the BJP swept to power in Andhra Pradesh. He was subsequently appointed deputy chief minister in the government headed by TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu.
His Telangana declaration, therefore, comes at perhaps the strongest point of his political career, backed by electoral success and a role in government.
The announcement that triggered a controversy
On June 2, marking the 12th anniversary of Telangana’s formation, Kalyan formally announced Jana Sena's re-entry into the state’s politics. He stated that JSP would contest the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections, expected later this year, as well as the Telangana assembly polls scheduled for late 2028. And then came the remark that sparked a political storm. Responding to critics who questioned his attempts to play an active role in Telangana politics, he asked whether Telangana was the “jagir” (fiefdom) of a select few.
Telangana is not your father’s inherited estate/property (jagir)
Pawan Klayan to his political critics
Telangana is indeed the jagir of the four crore people of the state
BRS working president KT Rama Rao
Facing mounting backlash, the 54-year-old leader later issued a clarification, insisting that his remarks had been misconstrued. By then, however, the controversy had gathered momentum, with political opponents seizing on the comment to question both his understanding of Telangana's political sensitivities and his party's ambitions in the state.
Declining BRS, Stagnant BJP: Opening for Pawan Kalyan and Jana Sena in Telangana?
According to Kalyan, the decision was driven by repeated appeals from JSP leaders and supporters in Telangana, who, he claimed, have repeatedly urged him to expand the party in the state. But beyond these internal demands, Telangana's evolving political landscape presents a strategic opportunity for JSP. Political observers believe Kalyan may be seeking to occupy the political space created by BRS' weakening and the BJP's failure to establish itself as a dominant force. BRS, founded as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) by K Chandrashekar Rao—a key leader of the Telangana statehood movement and the state's first chief minister—has weakened significantly since losing power in the November 2023 polls.
Although not officially retired, Rao has largely stayed away from public life since the defeat. Adding to BRS’ troubles, his daughter K Kavitha recently broke away and launched her own outfit: the Telangana Rakshana Sena. The BJP, too, has struggled to capitalise on BRS' decline. Signs of internal discord surfaced in December 2025, when Telangana BJP president N Ramachander Rao travelled to Delhi to meet the top leadership amid reports of factionalism within the state unit. The visit came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the BJP’s MPs and MLAs from Telangana. The BJP's electoral performance has also failed to match its ambitions.
In the Jubilee Hills bypoll held in November last year, it finished a distant third, securing just over 17,000 votes and less than 9% of the vote share. This marked a decline from the 2023 assembly election, when the party had again placed third but polled around 26,000 votes and nearly 14% of the vote share.
The result reinforced perceptions that the BJP's growth in Telangana has plateaued, potentially creating political space for alternative ch…
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