I felt jealous: Pawan Kalyan reacts to Vijay’s massive political win with TVK
Actor-politician Pawan Kalyan said he felt a little jealous after seeing Vijay’s rapid rise and landslide victory in TVK’s first electoral contest in Tamil Nadu. He said the moment reflected the public’s hunger for change, while emphasizing that building a party takes years to understand people’s expectations.
Actor and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, while talking about actor-turned-Chief Minister Vijay’s rise in Tamil Nadu politics, on a lighter note, said he felt “jealous” after Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) emerged as a credible option in the first electoral contest. Speaking at an event, Kalyan said Vijay’s party won by using cutouts and holograms, while he roamed the streets for 15 years.
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His comments came as online comparisons continued between Pawan Kalyan and Vijay after Vijay became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Pawan also reflected on his long political journey and said that running a party requires a deep understanding of the expectations of millions of people.
Pawan Kalyan’s comment
During the event Pawan said, “I look at Tamil politics these days, they have done it very casually. I felt jealous. They happily won using cutouts and holograms. I roamed the streets for 15 years but… (laughs). I’m kidding.”
He said, “But we need to think humanly. You need a lot of knowledge to say anything. Why did I struggle so much for 15 years? Because to run a party you need to understand the expectations of millions of people.”
His rise in politics
Pawan Kalyan launched the Jana Sena Party in 2014 with the promise of bringing change in Andhra Pradesh politics. However, the party struggled to make a major electoral impact on its own for years and suffered repeated setbacks in elections. Pawan himself lost both the assembly seats he contested in 2019, while Jana Sena managed to win only one seat.
His political fortunes changed after he joined hands with the alliance led by N Chandrababu Naidu and the Telugu Desam Party. The alliance won the 2024 Andhra Pradesh elections, paving the way for Pawan Kalyan to become the Deputy Chief Minister of the state.
Chiranjeevi’s call to Vijay
Pawan Kalyan’s brother and Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi also recently wished Vijay on becoming the CM. On Friday, Chiranjeevi’s team said that the actor had a warm and cordial phone call with Vijay the day before.
In a note, the team said Chiranjeevi congratulated Vijay on taking over as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and expressed hope that he will remain in the hearts of the people through people-centric governance. The note said that he wants Vijay to get the same kind of public affection as the great actor-politician MGR once got.
The same note said that Vijay thanked Chiranjeevi for supporting him during the piracy issue Jan Naygan. It added that Vijay had watched Chiranjeevi’s recent release, Man Shankar Var Prasad GaruAnd a pleasure to see him on screen. Vijay also wished him all the best for his upcoming film under the KVN Productions banner, the same banner that had backed his last film, Jan Naygan.
focus on tvk
Vijay launches TVK in 2024, just two years before the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. The party then defeated the two Dravidian parties DMK and AIADMK, which had dominated Tamil Nadu politics since the 60s. His rise has put him alongside actor-turned-politicians like NT Rama Rao, MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa.
The film industry’s support and association has also focused attention on Vijay’s political journey. Actor and BJP member Khushboo Sundar recently met him at the Secretariat in her capacity as president of the Small Screen Producers Council. After the meeting she said she was very emotional to see him as Chief Minister and described the conversation as warm, cordial and respectful.
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