NEW DELHI: Actor-politician Pawan Kalyan took the oath as Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh following Chandrababu Naidu swearing-in as Chief Minister for the fourth time on Wednesday, June 12.The oath ceremony took place at the Kesarapalli IT Park in Vijayawada that is located near Gannavaram Airport.
Alongwith Prime Minister Narendra Modi various other senior leaders from the NDA and TDP including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Jagat Prakash Nadda, Nitin Gadkari, Chirag Paswan and Bandi Sanjay Kumar were present at the ceremony.
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Pawan Kalyan, a prominent figure in the Telugu film industry, has left an enduring impact on Tollywood with his remarkable acting career and influential persona. Born on September 2, 1971, in Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh, Kalyan began his journey in the entertainment world with his debut film “Akkada Ammayi Ikkada Abbayi” in 1996. Since then, he has depicted a diverse array of characters, ranging from the rebellious youth in “Thammudu” to the vigilant hero in “Gabbar Singh.”
The actor ventured into the political arena in 2008, when he joined his brother Chiranjeevi’s political party, the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP). However, the party’s tenure was brief, culminating in its merger with the Congress party.
In 2014, Kalyan founded his own political party, the JSP. Though unable to contest elections that year, it lent its support to the TDP-BJP alliance. In 2019, the party contested its first assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh independently, facing a resounding defeat.
However this didn’t turn down the spirit of Kalyan. In the latter half of 2022, he launched ‘Jana Vani’, a series of small public gatherings aimed at addressing people’s grievances. Kalyan eventually forged an alliance with the TDP, JSP, and BJP, formally announced in a pre-poll alliance in March.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), under the leadership of the TDP, secured victory in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, claiming 164 out of 175 seats. The TDP triumphed in 135 out of the 144 seats it contested, while the Jana Sena Party (JSP) secured all 21 seats it contested, and the BJP clinched eight out of the 10 seats it contested. The incumbent YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) which previously held 151 seats had been reduced to just 11.