The meeting will be held in Rajahmundry, where Chandrababu Naidu is currently incarcerated in the Rajamahendravaram Central Prison.
Pawan Kalyan speaking to reporters after meeting Naidu, along with Nara Lokesh and actor-politician Balakrishna. (X)
Indicating that they mean business after announcing their alliance for the 2024 Assembly and Parliament elections in Andhra Pradesh, the TDP and Jana Sena have scheduled a Joint Action Committee (JAC) meeting on Monday, 23 October, at Rajahmundry.
The meeting assumes significance in the wake of heightened political activity in Andhra Pradesh after the arrest of TDP chief and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) in connection with alleged ₹371 crore Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) scam.
The meeting, to be chaired by TDP National General Secretary Nara Lokesh and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan, will have on its agenda includes discussions on a joint action plan to address public issues, the latest political developments, and coordination between both parties.
The meeting will also aim to strategise and accelerate political activities across Andhra Pradesh. The leaders from both the TDP and the Jana Sena who will participate in the JAC have already been announced.
The decision to hold the meeting in Rajahmundry is not surprising as Chandrababu Naidu is currently incarcerated in the Rajamahendravaram Central Prison.
On 14 September, in a surprise announcement, actor-politician Pawan Kalyan said his party was forming an alliance with the TDP to fight against the ruling YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh in next Assembly elections in 2024.
He made the announcement after meeting with Naidu in prison during mulakath.
He also exuded confidence that BJP would join the alliance, although the saffron party has not said anything on this count for over month now.
Since the announcement, Pawan Kalyan has intensified his attacks on the ruling YSRCP of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Although the two parties have been in talks over striking an alliance since the beginning of the year, with Naidu and Pawan Kalyan meeting twice, no formal announcement had been made till 14 September.
Pawan Kalyan has long been advocating an alliance of all Opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh, including the BJP, to challenge the YSRCP regime.
The BJP, once an ally of the TDP, is not too keen on alliance with the “yellow party” as it does not consider Naidu to be a stable ally, even though he has forgotten bygones and reached out to the saffron party.
On 14 September, while finally announcing the Jana Sena-TDP alliance, Pawan Kalyan’s tone indicated that his decision was final, regardless of whether the BJP approved of it or not
. It seemed like a message to the BJP to chart its course if it was unwilling to cooperate.
He stated: “My decision may not please some people. I was the first person from South India to support Narendra Modi because I believed the nation needed a strong leader. When I supported Modi, many people criticised my decision. However, I do not go back on my stand once I take a decision.”
He said he had extended support for the BJP and TDP alliance in 2014, as there was a need for experienced leadership in the newly-bifurcated state of Andhra Pradesh. He expressed his continued confidence in Chandrababu Naidu’s abilities, even if he disagreed with some of his policy initiatives.
Pawan Kalyan had also strongly disapproved of the YSRCP’s alleged fabrication of corruption charges against Chandrababu Naidu.
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