One of the finest works of American scholar and scientist Douglas R. Hofstadter is Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, which won him the Pulitzer Prize in 1980. Son of physicist and Nobel Prize winner Robert Hofstadter, Douglas graduated in mathematics and holds a PhD in physics, and is considered a genius in cognitive science. His book is based on a concept interweaving mathematics, art and music―a rarity that leaves many readers marvelling.
Most reviewers, though, say grasping Hofstadter’s narration requires some intellectual capacity and technical knowledge. So, one would assume that someone who barely managed to complete Class 10 in rural Andhra Pradesh, and later became a college dropout, would not be able to comprehend Hofstadter. But, if that someone was actor and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, the assumption would be wrong. A voracious reader with a curious mind that surpasses his formal education, Pawan Kalyan has read Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. His aides say he often likes to discuss the book’s contents, and had even learnt mathematics just for the sake of understanding some of its ideas.
Recently, Pawan Kalyan achieved a mathematically and electorally improbable feat―a success rate of 100 per cent, as he won all 21 assembly constituencies and two Lok Sabha seats that his Jana Sena Party had contested. At an internal party meeting recently in Vijayawada, he shared how during Reliance scion Ananth Ambani’s wedding, everyone came up to him and spoke about the success rate. It is a stunning turnaround for Pawan Kalyan; in 2019, his party had won just one of the 137 seats it had contested.
“Along with intellectual muscle, you should also grow the muscle of courage. It is not about being fearless, but facing your fears and overcoming them,” he would often repeat while delivering motivational speeches to students while on tours from 2019 to 2024. Perhaps these words shaped his own attitude in the run-up to the polls, as he steadfastly took on a powerful adversary, chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy of the YSR Congress Party.
“I lost my deposit in the 2019 elections and did not know how to face him (Pawan Kalyan),” said L. Naga Madhavi, party member and former US-based entrepreneur. “He told us to be among people and understand their issues. He said that the voters should know me better. I have followed his advice.”
Madhavi was among the 21 JSP candidates who won the assembly polls; she represents Nellimarla, which she won with a majority of 40,000 votes. “He was well aware of reports and data and our movements. We were surprised to know that he knew everything that was happening on the ground,” she said.
The turning point of Madhavi’s campaign was when Pawan Kalyan turned up in ‘Varahi,’ his campaign vehicle, and attended a public meeting with Telugu Desam Party leader N. Chandrababu Naidu, who is now the chief minister. “Looking at the crowd’s reaction, I felt that there was a wave in our favour,” she said.
PTI
The goddess Varahi holds a special place in Pawan Kalyan’s political and spiritual life. He named his pre-poll road shows and meetings as Varahi Yatra. His campaign vehicle, designed exclusively for elections, is also named after the goddess. After he won the elections, he wore traditional saffron attire and observed Varahi Deeksha for two days.
Critics say Pawan Kalyan’s brand of politics has been confusing and contradictory. Around 2008, he was actively involved with his brother’s just-launched political outfit, Praja Rajyam, which promised to follow the socialist ideology. In 2014, his own party, the JSP, extended direct support to the TDP and the BJP. His unconditional endorsement of Narendra Modi’s candidature also gave the impression that he was gravitating to the right wing.
In the 2019 polls, he broke up with his political allies and joined hands with communist parties and the Bahujan Samaj Party. This was more palatable for the general public, as the actor had always promoted revolutionary ideas and popularised Che Guevara as a movie symbol. But he later returned to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
“He says that he is at the centre, and that is his ideology,” said a close aide who did not wish to be identified. “However, keeping the electoral outcome in mind and also for the good of the people, he is open to tie-ups with political outfits from different spectrums. He is anything but communal. Perhaps his own voters understood his stance better, which is why minorities in large numbers voted for him in the elections.”
Pawan Kalyan was the adhesive that held the NDA together in the polls. He was also the medicine that cured the bitter feelings and lack of trust that existed between the TDP and the BJP. The TDP had walked out of the NDA in 2018, blaming the BJP for refusing to accord special status to Andhra Pradesh.
The BJP had since kept Naidu at bay and, according to a source, had also explored an alliance with the YSRCP, which apparently was not keen on it because of their loyal minority vote base.
When Naidu was arrested in a corruption case last September, Pawan Kalyan stood by the TDP and assured support to all party leaders. At the same time, he also stayed close to the BJP, with which he has had a formal alliance since 2020. Though the BJP’s national leadership was upset with him at one point for cosying up to the TDP without their knowledge, they later gave in to his charisma and persuasive power. It was thanks to Pawan Kalyan, and his electrifying campaign, that the BJP-TDP-JSP coalition evolved into a powerful one that won 164 of 175 assembly seats.
“Pawan Kalyan was a catalyst for victory. He brought youthful energy and a large part of the Kapu community votes,” said P. Pulla Rao, Delhi-based political analyst who closely tracks Andhra politics. “His charisma could always mobilise crowds irrespective of government pressure. He opposed the invincibility that Jagan was trying to project.”
For those around him, Pawan Kalyan is humble, grounded and practical―a reason he settled for just 21 seats in the seat-sharing arrangement. “He believes in having long-term goals and vision. He is not in politics for momentary gains,” said Sravanth Devabhaktini, cofounder of Pramanya Strategy Consulting, which worked for Pawan Kalyan in the polls. “He has clarity, and that is what he conveys to prospective leaders and ticket aspirants―that they should be willing to sacrifice years to build the party without high expectations in the immediate future.”
Though he does not have administrative experience, Pawan Kalyan has taken up key portfolios such as environment, science and technology, panchayat raj and rural water supply. Generating wealth from waste, and helping victims affected by coastal soil erosion, are goals he is passionately chasing.
“Pawan Kalyan is now under test,” said Rao. “Though the alliance got an overwhelming mandate, he has got limited seats because he chose to contest only in 21 seats. He has ceded territory to the TDP; lots of problems will arise on a daily basis [because of that]. And there is no machinery to sort out political problems.”