On Wednesday, Tollywood actor-turned-politician and the founder of Jana Sena party in Telangana, Pawan Kalyan, began his tour of South India from Chennai. This is his first such initiative outside Andhra Pradesh after starting the party in 2014.
Many fans of the actor greeted his visit with banners and placards outside the event venue – Taj Connemara.
Speaking to the media, Kalyan said that he wanted the southern states to play a dominant role within the (political) system and revolt against the hegemony prevailing in Indian politics. “It is high time the parties in the South stood together and ended the hegemony of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in national politics. I feel the South should have more leaders like Annadurai because even though we have more number of MPs, we are neglected by the government in the North.”
He said that the root of his ‘political thought’ was formed during his stay in Chennai and especially Tamil Nadu.
Talking about his ideology, he said: “All that I want is to not segregate the country, but to stay united. The government in the North doesn’t understand the culture of Southern India. I don’t believe in caste politics like other political parties. I want caste unification and not caste separation.”
“I want a capital to be created in the South as BR Ambedkar envisaged,” he added.
The actor, throughout his speech, stressed on the importance of preserving Dravidian culture. He said, “My intention is to not promote myself, but to promote cultural identity. Andhra is a part of Dravidian culture. Whatever we do is a part of Dravidian culture and we don’t need a separate name for it. It is a social movement.”
When he was asked what he thought of the current Tamil Nadu government, Kalyan said that he cannot comment on it. “But what I understood after talking to the people here was that they want to hold on to their self-respect, which the current state government is not letting them do. That is what youngsters in Pollachi told me when I met them.”
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Kalyan added, “In due course, we will be meeting the public in many places to understand them. What we are doing is not for the current election, but with sights on the longer term. We are going to contest in all places. I have great support in Telangana and hope to gain in other states too. We will be contesting in the 2019 parliamentary elections and for that, we are assessing the situation.”
In Tamil Nadu, there came a time when leading actors like Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan announced their political entry after the demise of the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalithaa. While actor Kamal Haasan established his party – Makkal Needhi Maiam – in February this year and begun visiting people, Rajinikanth hasn’t launched his party yet.
Recently, actor Vijay too, speaking at the trailer launch of his film Sarkar, hinted at his political entry.