Opinion: Pawan Kalyan: Reel Meets Real

Reel and real overlap for Pawan Kalyan. On celluloid, he is the stylish star who will bash up the bad guys. In his avatar as deputy chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Kalyan is playing the sincere, goody-goody guy who asks tough questions—someone who is willing to take on a fellow cabinet minister for the sake of the larger public good.

That is the template in which Pawan Kalyan's outburst against Andhra Pradesh home minister Anitha Vangalapudi could be viewed. He is part of the government, he could be held accountable too for the acts of omission and commission. Yet, in one smooth stroke, he was able to dissociate himself from these apparent failings and positioned himself as someone who could take drastic action to correct the 'wrongs'.

In damage-control mode, senior Telugu Desam Party (TDP) minister P. Narayana said that as deputy chief minister, Kalyan could guide and instruct a minister in the cabinet. Home minister Anitha said he had not called her incompetent, but he had in fact backed her, asking her to become more aggressive in her stance against criminals.

Pawan's Enviable Position

But was Kalyan undermining Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu's authority? By suggesting that he could ask for and take charge of the home ministry, he is indicating that it is not the prerogative of the chief minister alone to allocate portfolios, and that Kalyan could flex his muscles too. That is the kind of positioning and messaging about the power he commands in the alliance government.

The other issue is the reference to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Kalyan said the TDP government should take a cue from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for dealing with law and order problems. Political observers are wondering if that is an admission that Uttar Pradesh had been successful in doing something that Andhra Pradesh had failed to do. Some analysts see in this an open admiration for the BJP chief minister. 

Just a few days ago, Pawan Kalyan announced a new wing in the Jana Sena, which he called the Narasimha Varahi Brigade. Its task was to take on and challenge those who spoke against the 'Sanatana Dharma'. This is an issue that Pawan Kalyan has been very vocal about in the last two months, asking for national legislation, a national organisational structure and funds to protect it.

Kalyan, The Grassroots Champion

Kalyan delivers both film dialogues and political statements conveying heartfelt emotion and passionate commitment to a cause. That is why even though he made his political foray years before he tasted electoral success, the frenzy he evoked among his youthful fans never ebbed. To this day, his political messaging is full of lofty ideals and is aimed at conveying his sincerity towards causes he has declared close to his heart. Kalyan wants to project himself as the grassroots man, using sentiment and emotion to convey that his heart beats for the common man.

So, will Pawan Kalyan eventually emerge as a poster boy for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Andhra Pradesh, perhaps taking on the TDP and the YSRCP? That could be possible on a future date.

As of now, there is no open fallout between the alliance partners. On the contrary, there is a visible bonhomie, with Kalyan even publicly declaring his closeness and respect for Naidu's experience and leadership.

On his part, Naidu, too has not uttered a single word that could be (mis)interpreted as hints of differences between the leaders and their parties. There is no public reaction from Naidu even on Kalyan's public reprimand of a TDP minister, something that should have been done in private or in a cabinet meeting. Picture abhi baaki hai.

(Uma Sudhir is Executive Editor, NDTV)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author