Hyderabad: Jana Sena Party (JSP) chief Pawan Kalyan is leading in the Pithapuram assembly constituency in coastal Andhra Pradesh by over 70,279 against over Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) candidate Vanga Geetha, as of 6.45 PM.
Kalyan’s party, which had won only one assembly seat last time, has done well this time, having registered 13 victories and leading in eight more of the 21 seats it had contested in alliance with the Telugu Desam Party and Bharatiya Janata Party.
Pithapuram, the seat from where Kalyan chose to fight the assembly election, had become the most keenly watched contest in Andhra Pradesh.
P.K. had lost both the Gajuwaka and Bhimavaram assembly constituencies to the YSRCP in the 2019 polls, which he had contested in an alliance with the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India and the Bahujan Samaj Party, leaving lakhs of fans and admirers of the hugely popular Telugu film star turned politician, especially among the youth, heartbroken.
Taking no chances in this election, Kalyan had allied with TDP and BJP — the winning combination of the 2014 polls. Kalyan formed the JSP in 2014, but the fledgling party did not contest the polls then, even though Kalyan campaigned extensively for the TDP-BJP.
For the 2024 elections, Kalyan, going against the expectations of his party workers in these elections, settled for 21 assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats as the share of the JSP in the tripartite alliance to accommodate the BJP.
Kalyan started his political career in the short-lived Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) formed by his elder brother, K. Chiranjeevi, but left when the PRP merged with the Congress in 2011 and founded the JSP three years later.
Kalyan’s Pithapuram selection, according to analysts, is calculated and deliberate as the assembly seat has a significant number of Kapus, whose community Kalyan hails from.
Pithapuram, 15 km from the port town Kakinada, is located in the lush Godavari region and is known for its serene green landscapes, temples, etc. According to reports, the most heavily wagered-on result in the state was that of Pithapuram, after the discrete betting of crores of rupees on which party or combine would come to power in the state.
In addition to the caste factor, hundreds of Kalyan’s fans — daily wage labourers from nearby towns and villages to Telugu techies from abroad — descended on the quiet town of Pithapuram, weeks ahead of the 13 May polls. They silently but actively campaigned for Kalyan, galvanising electoral support for their beloved leader.
Kalyan, however, faced a formidable rival in YSRCP candidate Geetha. A seasoned politician, Geetha, who started her political journey in the TDP, was elected the Pithapuram MLA in 2009 from Chiranjeevi’s PRP. At the time, Kalyan actively supported Geetha as part of the PRP campaign.
Geetha was a TDP Rajya Sabha MP from 2000 to 2006 before she joined the PRP and then the Congress when the PRP merged with the national party. She joined the YSRCP before the 2019 polls and won the Lok Sabha elections from Kakinada seat, which includes the Pithapuram assembly segment.
Unperturbed by the presence of the hugely popular Kalyan, Geetha went about her campaign by assuring voters of her services as a locally available leader and reminding them about her contributions, such as developing affordable housing, modernising the Yeluru canal and bringing the Industrial Training Institute, polytechnic, and hotel management institutes to Pithapuram. Geetha also banked on the welfare programmes of the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government — pension, Amma Vodi, and Cheyutha, among other such schemes for women — to gather support.
While Kalyan connected directly with the Pithapuram electorate through his addresses at rallies and road shows, the film star also received the backing of the film fraternity, especially his family. Elder brother and former Union minister Chiranjeevi, who has taken a break from politics, released a short video on social media, appealing for public support for Kalyan. Chiranjeevi’s son Ram Charan of RRR (2022) fame, nephew Sai Durgha Tej, and other prominent actors such as Ghanta Nani and Teja Sajja of Hanu-Man (2024) fame also extended their support to the “power star” in the Telugu film industry.
On 13 May, Pithapuram, with 236,409 registered voters, recorded an 86.63 voting percentage, according to the ECI.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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