Chandrababu Naidu met Pawan Kalyan to contain the firestorm triggered by his own brother-in-law and Hindupur MLA, film actor N Balakrishna.
Published Sep 30, 2025 | 1:00 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 30, 2025 | 1:00 PM
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu met his deputy, Pawan Kalyan, in Hyderabad.
Synopsis: Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu made it a point to drive down to Pawan Kalyan’s residence in Hyderabad ostensibly to check on his health. However, unofficial reports suggest Naidu was busy spraying political foam on a fire that threatened to reduce his NDA coalition to cinders.
Several thousand people across Southern states are suffering from viral fevers. But Pawan Kalyan is no ordinary person. He is the deputy chief minister of Andhra Pradesh.
And, therefore, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Nara Chandrababu Naidu, made it a point to drive down to his residence in Hyderabad on Sunday, 28 September, ostensibly to check on his health.
Whenever he is unwell, Pawan prefers to get treated in Hyderabad (not in the golden Andhra Pradesh under the NDA rule). And, almost every weekend, all three of them — Naidu, Pawan Kalyan and Naidu’s son and Minister, Nara Lokesh, travel to Hyderabad, in special planes at public expense. Opposition says each of them made more than 50 such trips between Amaravathi and Hyderabad in the past year.
But that’s a different story, and we shall come to you with that soon.
For now, the story behind Naidu’s visit to Pawan Kalyan’s residence is completely different. For all the bravado he puts up, Naidu is extremely cautious. Critics call him a coward but what he tried to do during his Sunday visit was firefighting.
If there were medals for dousing political infernos, Naidu would have one hanging around his neck by now, for the way he scrambled to contain the firestorm triggered by his own brother-in-law and Hindupur MLA, film actor N Balakrishna.
For those not following the script, here’s a quick recap. During a discussion in the Assembly, Balakrishna couldn’t resist a jab at “Mega Star” Chiranjeevi. Disputing BJP MLA Kamineni Srinivas’ claim that Chiranjeevi had once forced YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, then the chief minister, to relent on film industry issues, Balakrishna scoffed: “Nothing of the sort happened — don’t make him a hero.”
The words fell like a lit match in a petrol godown. Chiranjeevi’s fans bristled, Jana Sena cadres went into battle mode, and Pawan Kalyan, Chiranjeevi’s younger brother, promptly rushed to Hyderabad, allegedly while battling viral fever.
Coalition compulsions may have kept him quiet in public, but his fans were less inclined to swallow the insult.
The YSRCP, never one to waste a good opportunity, gleefully fanned the flames. They accused Pawan Kalyan of silence in the face of an insult to his brother and even dug up Balakrishna’s controversial past — the 2004 Jubilee Hills shooting incident, in which the actor-turned-politician allegedly fired at two visitors with his wife’s revolver.
Though acquitted in 2005 for lack of evidence, YSRCP leaders went to town, waving old “mental instability” certificates and calling him unfit for politics.
Soon, the fight wasn’t just about egos or film stars. Old caste wounds began to reopen. Chiranjeevi, a Kapu icon, versus Balakrishna and Naidu, both Kammas — the spectre of 1980s Vijayawada politics loomed large. A woman Jana Sena leader was blunt: “We may stay quiet for the coalition’s sake, but Chiranjeevi’s fans will not forgive this. They will teach Balakrishna a lesson.”
With coalition unity in danger and tempers flaring on the streets, Naidu knew he had to act fast. And he did. Step one: He got both Balakrishna’s and Kamineni Srinivas’ remarks expunged from the Assembly records — erasing history before it could be replayed endlessly on YouTube. Step two: He personally flew to Hyderabad, where he sat down with an ailing Pawan Kalyan for over an hour.
The official statement? They discussed the upcoming GST Utsav and the prime minister’s visit to Srisailam on 16 October. The unofficial takeaway? Naidu was busy spraying political foam on a fire that threatened to reduce his NDA coalition to cinders.
Naidu’s patch-up efforts notwithstanding, some say there has been a conscious effort to belittle the leaders of Jana Sena in the recent past. Just days ago, two MLAs of the TDP caused embarrassment to Pawan Kalyan and Civil Supplies Minister Nadendla Manohar by asking uncomfortable questions in the Assembly.
Could they have done so without tacit approval from the TDP leadership? For the record, Naidu promptly intervened in the Assembly and advised his MLAs to desist from raising issues with “personal agenda” or causing rift in the alliance, which has TDP, Jana Sena and the BJP.
If one were to keep aside public posturing, recent episodes point to the beginning of a friction between TDP and Jana Sena. The massive event organised by the state government to hand over appointment letters to those selected in the District Selection Committee (DSC) examination happened without the participation of any Jana Sena representatives.
Citing Pawan Kalyan’s illness, Jana Sena suggested that Nadendla Manohar be invited to the event. The TDP preferred another Jana Sena Minister, Kandula Durgesh. In the end, neither of them was invited, and the event turned out to be a one-man show for Lokesh, with BJP state unit President Madhav playing the side role.
Naidu may not have worn a helmet or carried a hose-pipe; his firefighting skills were very much on display. But who is lighting the fire and then making efforts to douse it?
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
