The Jana Sena is contesting the Telangana election on November 30 in alliance with the BJP. The Jana Sena had begun negotiations putting out a list of 32 seats where it wanted to field candidates. While the final number of seats where actor-politician Pawan Kalyan’s party will contest has not been finalised yet – the number hovering between 6 and 9 – it is significant that the party has chosen to test its electoral strength in Telangana.

The larger question is why is the BJP so keen to enlist the Jana Sena in Telangana? After all, it is a political party with interests in Andhra Pradesh and nil presence in Telangana. More so, when Jana Sena’s friendly party in Andhra Pradesh, the Telugu Desam opted out of the contest in Telangana.