At last, after a long gap, the BJP and the Jana Sena are holding a joint meeting in Vijayawada on December 25. The last meeting held between the two parties was when Jana Sena Political Affairs Committee chief Nadendla Manohar visited the BJP office in 2021.

Jana Sena had restored its alliance with the BJP immediately after its disastrous defeat in the 2019 general election. Pawan Kalyan broke his alliance with the BJP and the TDP in 2018 on the demand for the Special Category status.

He then went to the 2019 elections in alliance with the two Communist parties and the Bahujan Samaj Party. He went all the way to Lucknow and met BSP chief Mayawati before declaring the alliance.

However, after the disastrous performance in the election, Pawan Kalyan had returned to the BJP. But the two parties hardly held any joint programme since then. It is also not known whether Pawan Kalyan would attend the joint meeting with the BJP on December 25 or would depute his lieutenant Nadendla Manohar.

The BJP leaders are eagerly waiting for Pawan Kalyan to come closer to them to make the party’s presence in the state in the next election. With Pawan Kalyan in alliance, the BJP wants to focus on the Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in the two Godavari districts.

It is said that Pawan Kalyan had improved his following in the undivided Godavari districts and is anticipating a handful of Assembly seats in the next election. It is also widely said that Pawan Kalyan would contest from these two districts.

What is more interesting is that the joint meeting between the two parties is happening only after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the state on November 11. It was on this day that Pawan Kalyan met the Prime Minister for a brief discussion.