Pawan Kalyan Urges Local Poll Wins as CPM Criticizes Tribal Tour

Local Polls and Alliance Support

Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena Chief Pawan Kalyan has called on party workers to ensure the victory of candidates from the ruling alliance in the upcoming local body elections. Speaking at a village meeting in Kakawada during his Adavitalli Bata tour, he said that Jana Sena workers will contest the local polls according to alliance seat-sharing terms. He urged his cadres to offer the same level of respect and support to leaders from the Telugu Desam Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party as they give to their own party members. Recalling past struggles, Kalyan noted that when he started the party, youth supported him wearing red towels without expecting any post, relying only on the weapon of struggle. He added that Jana Sena and Veera Mahila members provided courage to the state when no one else took to the streets during the previous government, which he termed wicked for putting Chandrababu Naidu in jail. Stating that the past elections were for the future of the state, he described local elections as being for the direct needs and future of the voters, adding that Jana Sena has made many sacrifices and deserves proper representation.

Criticism from CPM

Meanwhile, CPI(M) State Secretary V. Srinivasa Rao criticized the Deputy Chief Minister's tour, stating that it ignored the major problems faced by tribals. In a statement released on Monday, the CPM leader said it was unfortunate that Kalyan did not address tribal concerns at the Adavitalli Bata 2.0 public meeting in Rampachodavaram mandal's Kakawada village. He noted that tribals have been fighting for podu land title deeds for years with thousands of pending applications under the Forest Rights Act, but forest officials continue to evict adivasi farmers from their cultivation lands without action from Kalyan's own department. Rao also pointed out that unemployed youth held two bandhs to revive GO Number 3, and are demanding a special DSC for tribal areas since tribal students received no posts in the 2025 DSC. He alleged that the state government has remained silent in the Supreme Court on a petition filed by non-tribal landlords regarding the 1/70 Act due to pressure from landlords, while central mining permissions add to adivasi fears. Furthermore, Rao stated that although the government claims the Polavaram project will be completed by 2027, evacuees have not received full compensation despite staging protests, marches, and sit-ins at ITDA and collector offices, and facing severe issues in newly built colonies. He argued that claiming he lacks a magic wand and needs time is unfair, and alleged the tour is meant only to gain benefits in local elections.

Context

The local bodies in Andhra Pradesh handle grassroots civic administration, making elections to these tiers a major arena for alliance dynamics between the ruling parties. Tribal welfare issues such as land rights under the Forest Rights Act and protections under the 1/70 Act remain long-standing legal and social matters in scheduled areas like Polavaram.