Telugu superstar and Jana Sena Party (JSP) president Konidela Pawan Kalyan is expected to be the Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Meanwhile, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu looks all set to take oath as the next Chief Minister on Wednesday, June 12.
In the 2024 Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, the TDP bagged 135 of the 175 seats, while its other National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners JSP and the BJP got 21 and eight seats each, taking their combined total to 164 seats. The remaining 11 seats went to the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).
The NDA also bagged 21 of the 25 parliamentary constituencies in Andhra Pradesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
This includes 16 seats won by TDP, three by the BJP and two by JSP.
On the other hand, YSRCP could only secure a victory on four seats. The Congress-led INDIA bloc failed to open its account in both Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in the state.
Who is Pawan Kalyan?
Born as Konidela Kalyan Babu, the 55-year-old became popular as Pawan Kalyan after he worked on his first film, Akkada Abbai Ikkada Ammayi, released in 1996.
The younger brother of legendary actor Chiranjeevi and Nagendra Babu, Kalyan over the years became a renowned actor in the Telugu industry and has appeared in several critically and commercially successful films, making him one of the leading actors in the industry.
After he rose to prominence with the dramas Gokulamlo Seeta (1997) and Suswagatham (1998), Kalyan achieved stardom in the Telugu cinema for his performance in Tholi Prema (1998). Some of his other well-known works include Thammudu (1999), Badri (2000), Balu (2005), Jalsa (2008), Gabbar Singh (2012), Attarintiki Daredi (2013), Gopala Gopala (2015) and Bheemla Nayak (2022).
In 2008, Kalyan was made the president of Yuva Rajyam, the youth wing of Praja Rajyam Party (PRP), which was started by his elder brother Chiranjeevi. Though he never contested polls, he actively campaigned for the party.
Later, when Chiranjeevi merged his party with the Congress Party, Kalyan became inactive and did not join the grand old party.
Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Pawan Kalyan floated his political outfit — Jana Sena Party. While his party did not contest the polls, he allied with TDP and the BJP.
It was in 2016 when he first decided to contest the 2019 elections on his own, with the key focus of his election manifesto being farmers.
However, his party suffered badly in the polls, while Kalyan also lost polls from both seats of Bhimavaram in West Godavari district and Gajuwaka in Visakhapatnam. The JSP could manage victory on just one seat back then.
In the 2024 elections, Kalyan again allied with the TDP and BJP. This time, the trio managed a landslide victory in both Assembly as well as Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh.
Kalyan contested Assembly polls from Pithapuram seat and defeated YSRCP's Vanga Geetha by 70,279 votes.
Pawan Kalyan is married to Anna Lezhneva, a Russian model and actress. She is his third wife. He was earlier married to Nandini and Renu Desai.
In the 2024 Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, the TDP bagged 135 of the 175 seats, while its other National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners JSP and the BJP got 21 and eight seats each, taking their combined total to 164 seats. The remaining 11 seats went to the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).
The NDA also bagged 21 of the 25 parliamentary constituencies in Andhra Pradesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
This includes 16 seats won by TDP, three by the BJP and two by JSP.
On the other hand, YSRCP could only secure a victory on four seats. The Congress-led INDIA bloc failed to open its account in both Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in the state.
Who is Pawan Kalyan?
Born as Konidela Kalyan Babu, the 55-year-old became popular as Pawan Kalyan after he worked on his first film, Akkada Abbai Ikkada Ammayi, released in 1996.
The younger brother of legendary actor Chiranjeevi and Nagendra Babu, Kalyan over the years became a renowned actor in the Telugu industry and has appeared in several critically and commercially successful films, making him one of the leading actors in the industry.
After he rose to prominence with the dramas Gokulamlo Seeta (1997) and Suswagatham (1998), Kalyan achieved stardom in the Telugu cinema for his performance in Tholi Prema (1998). Some of his other well-known works include Thammudu (1999), Badri (2000), Balu (2005), Jalsa (2008), Gabbar Singh (2012), Attarintiki Daredi (2013), Gopala Gopala (2015) and Bheemla Nayak (2022).
In 2008, Kalyan was made the president of Yuva Rajyam, the youth wing of Praja Rajyam Party (PRP), which was started by his elder brother Chiranjeevi. Though he never contested polls, he actively campaigned for the party.
Later, when Chiranjeevi merged his party with the Congress Party, Kalyan became inactive and did not join the grand old party.
Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Pawan Kalyan floated his political outfit — Jana Sena Party. While his party did not contest the polls, he allied with TDP and the BJP.
It was in 2016 when he first decided to contest the 2019 elections on his own, with the key focus of his election manifesto being farmers.
However, his party suffered badly in the polls, while Kalyan also lost polls from both seats of Bhimavaram in West Godavari district and Gajuwaka in Visakhapatnam. The JSP could manage victory on just one seat back then.
In the 2024 elections, Kalyan again allied with the TDP and BJP. This time, the trio managed a landslide victory in both Assembly as well as Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh.
Kalyan contested Assembly polls from Pithapuram seat and defeated YSRCP's Vanga Geetha by 70,279 votes.
Pawan Kalyan is married to Anna Lezhneva, a Russian model and actress. She is his third wife. He was earlier married to Nandini and Renu Desai.
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