Hyderabad: The JanaSena Party (JSP)—a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance in Andhra Pradesh—is planning to seek a ministerial berth at the Centre, in what it wants to use as a stepping stone for expansion beyond the state, party leaders have told ThePrint.
The leaders had gathered at the 12-year-old party’s Sena Prasthanam event in New Delhi Monday.
“We are a regional party, with a national outlook. We want to systematically transition from being an Andhra Pradesh-based regional party into a broader national force, and our expansion is ideologically driven, not based on purely electoral math,” Ajaya Kumar, JSP’s national spokesperson, told ThePrint.
Outside the Telugu states, the JSP, led by K. Pawan Kalyan, has already begun expanding in southern India by admitting cadres from Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry. It has also established a think tank in Kerala. The party has an active presence in Chitradurga, a district bordering Andhra Pradesh on the eastern side.
Leaders, like prominent local businessman D. Basavaraj, championed the expansion and enrolment of hundreds of local members in the region, prompting Ram Talluri and K. Naga Babu, Kalyan’s older brother, to visit Chitradurga and welcome the cadres into the party.
“In Kerala, we have a think tank based in Trivandrum, and we have found many supporters for our seven core principles, which include politics beyond caste and religious identity, and nationalism that does not exclude regional identity. Members of our think tank are studying different regions of Kerala, and we are looking to take people’s inputs,” JSP leader Sandeep Pachakarla said.
Also Read: How Andhra’s drought-prone Anantapur district became a hub for industry and investment
‘JanaSena’s ideology is expanding’
The party’s two-day event in Delhi, which concluded Monday, saw participation from more than 120 leaders from all southern states. Five resolutions were passed. In bid to expand, the party has asked its three MPs to address national issues rather than confine themselves to those specific to Andhra Pradesh.
“The principles and ideology of the JanaSena Party are attracting everyone across the country. The party’s approach to thinking for the nation is bringing it closer to the people. As a result, many people from other states are coming forward to join the party. They are expressing their commitment to work towards spreading the party in those states. This is a clear indicator that Janasena’s ideology is expanding. Connecting different regions and people through the power of ideology and uniting society is Janasena’s policy. The country will always remain the priority for the Janasena Party,” Kalyan said in his address to party leaders and cadres Monday.
The summit also focused on aggressively wooing first-time and younger voters across southern India. With the party constituting a separate committee for studying Gen Z’s aspirations, political analysts say it could help the party attract a non-dynastic youth leadership.
Experts from Andhra Pradesh who observed JSP’s Delhi summit closely said the party’s ambition has been backed by its 100 percent strike rate in the 2024 Andhra Pradesh assembly and Lok Sabha elections. The party won all 21 of the 175 assembly seats it contested, and two parliamentary seats.
The party has further decided to contest the Telangana municipal elections and the 2028 assembly elections. Its first test would be its ability to win well in the 20+ wards where Andhra settlers live in the Hyderabad and Secunderabad twin cities.
But even as JSP’s re-entry is forcing a shift in Telangana’s political landscape, with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and Telangana Rashtra Sena directly challenging its ambitions, many reckon that its expansion is not an act in isolation. Kalyan’s decision to enter Telangana came soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Hyderabad on 10 May, where he met with Andhra CM N. Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy CM Kalyan.
JSP’s pan-India strategy would be carried out in phases once the Telugu diaspora delivers its verdict on the party’s relevance in Telangana.
JSP’s ‘competitive advantage’
Andhra Pradesh-based political analyst A. Sathyanarayana said, “Unlike typical regional outfits that lean on anti-Delhi rhetoric, JSP is explicitly anchoring its expansion in patriotism, national security, and unity. Pawan Kalyan’s massive cinematic appeal and his ability to speak many languages could give the party an immediate competitive advantage. This crossover popularity allows JSP to bypass the long-term organisational building normally required to capture public attention in new states, his partymen say.”
However, even as it aspires to expand beyond its traditional stronghold in Andhra, the party is careful not to hurt the BJP politically. Pawan Kalyan and his second-rung leaders have always complemented the BJP, and have protected themselves as a bridge between national and regional centres in the South.
The Jana Sena has openly backed the PM on quite a few contentious issues, such as the three-language policy and the delimitation exercise. The backing of a national party could provide JSP with a structural cushion to expand beyond Andhra Pradesh, analysts say.
However, the party’s expansion is bound to be met with challenges.
Even if the party has the BJP’s backing, the calculated gamble could backfire if its ally in Andhra, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), sees JSP’s expansion as a threat. The shared Telugu voter diaspora, the “insider vs outsider” debate in Telangana, and the accusation that the JSP president is a “part-time politician” are some issues that the party will have to deal with to be taken seriously.
Secondly, JanaSena’s success depends on converting Kalyan’s cinematic fandom into structured booths in Telangana and Karnataka to strengthen its position as a political party.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
Also Read: Taking cue from Vijay & CJP, Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena forms panel to align itself with Gen Z