BJP MLA Dr Akula Satyanarayana is all set to join actor-politician Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena party in Andhra Pradesh on January 21. Speaking to reporters, the legislator from Rajahmundry said that he would meet Pawan in Vijayawada on Monday and join the party. Stating that he did not demand any particular party ticket, he said that he would strive to work for the party and carry out whatever duties were assigned to him.

According to media reports, the announcement came after he conducted a meeting with JSP leaders Kandula Durgesh, Meda Gurudatta Prasad, Anusree Satyanarayana, Ganta Swaroopa Rani and others.

The latest move could be seen as a boost for the Jana Sena party which is looking for more leaders who can be put up as MLA and MP candidates as the state heads for simultaneous Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in a matter of months. Pawan Kalyan had earlier announced that his party would contest in all 175 constituencies in Andhra Pradesh in 2019.

The party has already been allotted its poll symbol—a glass tumbler – by the Election Commission.  Pawan Kalyan floated Jana Sena Party in March 2014. However, he did not contest in the state election that year, stating that he did not have grass root level workers. Instead, he campaigned for the TDP-BJP alliance.

The alliance was short-lived after the BJP-led Centre denied granting Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh. Since then, Pawan Kalyan has been hitting out at both the Centre and TDP in the state for failing to fulfill their promises.

For a long time, Pawan Kalyan was the lone face of the party, without a second rung of leaders. However, Congress leader and former AP speaker Nadendla Manohar recently joined the party to fill the visible void. Former Andhra Minister and TDP MLA Ravela Kishore Babu also later joined hands with Pawan. 

In the 2019 Assembly Elections, Pawan Kalyan will be up against the ruling TDP led by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party.