Janasena Party chief Pawan Kalyan in Chennai

CHENNAI: Telugu actor and Janasena Party founder Pawan Kalyan on Wednesday called upon the regional parties in the southern states to come together to overcome and resist the Centre neglecting the region.

“Successive governments at the Centre have neglected the south and it is for the regional parties to come together as a bloc to force the Centre to respect their rights,” Kalyan said here on Wednesday. Citing the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, he said, both the Congress and the BJP faltered in the way it was carried out and a development package was denied. “The TDP and the YSR Congress are to be blamed as well for failing to force the Centre to act.”

“A third force will emerge eventually in India, but not in 2019 elections. It will be the beginning and the starting point, since for a lot of key regional players, young leadership is yet to emerge. The regional players, at least from the south, will have a common minimum programme and it will become a strong platform around 2024 elections,” he told TOI.

Even in the 2019 post-election scenario, he sees regional parties across the country coming together as a bloc and decide on whom to support – the BJP or the Congress – depending on whichever party emerges as the single largest.

“I supported the BJP in 2014. But, given the actions that they have taken till date – how do you trust that party and Narendra Modi?” he asked.

Pawan Kalyan said, people elected Modi with a lot of love and affection. Today, they are scared. “We wanted a strong leader and that’s why people gave their support. Instead of aligning with the people, he started bullying, thereby creating a sense of fear, through action like demonetization, which created chaos, crisis and disrupted the economy, thereby generating a seething anger against the Centre.”

In Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu is an “opportunist” and a “convenient politician”, who works out alliances only for his benefit and not that of the state, while Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has strong cases against him. “There is a sword above his head and hence lacks moral right to take up issues on behalf of the state,” said the actor, who will not be seen in films anymore. It will be a threehorse race in AP – the TDP, the YSR Congress and the Jana Sena. While the TDP is in alliance with the Congress, a party that it opposed since inception, the BJP has become non-existent in the state.

