Denied ticket: JSP leader Pothina Mahesh quits, calls Pawan Kalyan ‘selfish’

Vijayawada: Jana Sena Party senior leader Pothina Venkata Mahesh on Monday resigned from all positions, including the party membership. Mahesh was a trusted lieutenant of party chief Pawan Kalyan. He quit the party on Monday, after being denied Vijayawada West Assembly seat.

According to reports, Pawan Kalyan assured Mahesh – who ran unsuccessfully in the 2019 elections from the Vijayawada West Assembly constituency – that he will be fielded from the same seat in the upcoming elections.

Pawan promised after 2019 elections

The actor-turned-politician made the promise as soon as the results of the polls were announced then. After Jana Sena entered an alliance with the TDP in the Vijayawada West Assembly seat, it was of popular opinion that it would be finalised for Mahesh. From September 2023, Mahesh intensified his door-to-door visits in the constituency, highlighting the failures of the YSRCP government.

However, after the BJP joined the Jana Sena and TDP alliance, the Vijayawada West Assembly seat was given to former union minister Sujana Chowdary.

Unhappy with the party leadership’s decision, Mahesh and his followers even staged a one-day hunger strike at his office and claimed that Shaik Asif, the YSRCP candidate from the seat, would gain from the seat having a BJP candidate. A couple of days ago, Sujana Chowdary called on Pawan Kalyan and appealed to him to ask Mahesh to support his MLA candidature.

‘True face of Pawan Kalyan’

Speaking to the media, Mahesh said, “I quit the party. People will know the true face of Pawan Kalyan soon and accuse him of working for selfish political interests. The actor-turned-politician never focused on party development and cadre. Pawan Kalyan is a great actor in politics. Doesn't Pawan know the status of the party after 25 days? With 21 seats, what future can the party give to the people? People have already defeated him in Gajuwaka and Bhimavaram Assembly constituencies knowing his capabilities.”

Mahesh further said that he worked hard for building the party from a grassroots level in the constituency.

“It is uncertain if Jana Sena will survive for another 20 years. Why were seats not allotted to those who worked for Jana Sena? Why were seats given to the TDP? Pawan Kalyan should explain. I have all the evidence and will put it out there. The Kapu community is being sacrificed. Do not deceive the Kapu youth,” he said.

‘Match-fixing politics’

Taking a jibe at Pawan Kalyan for giving away Vijayawada West Assembly seat to Sujana Chowdary, Mahesh said, “How was Sujana Chaudhary, who insulted Pawan Kalyan’s mother, given a seat? The unmindful decisions of Pawan Kalyan left the party’s development at a crossroads in the Amaravati capital region. It was the Jana Sena Party which allied with the TDP. Why should the seats be reduced? Not a single Kapu leader is contesting in the Krishna and Guntur districts. The TD and Jana Sena parties are doing match-fixing politics.”

Mahesh also said that the party conducted a survey in Vijayawada West and Tenali constituencies. “Why did Pawan Kalyan sacrifice the winning Vijayawada West constituency seat to the BJP? Do you need BCs for sacrifices? Is it because it won’t work with the Kamma community? It would have helped if the West constituency seat had been given to someone other than the capitalists,” he claimed.