Actor-politician and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan on Tuesday announced that he would undertake a train journey on November 2 from Vijayawada to Tuni in Andhra Pradesh's East Godavari district and called upon his followers to accompany him.
In a press note, the JSP said that Pawan would board the Janmabhoomoi Express and speak at a public meeting which would be held at Tuni after his arrival. He is expected to stop at multiple towns and interact with the locals. The JSP said that Pawan would first speak to mango farmers at Nuzvid before heading to Eluru. He also plans to speak to sugarcane farmers at Tadepalligudem besides textile workers at Rajamahendravaram and students at Samlakot. At Annavaram, he is expected to speak to Etikoppaka artisans.
Taking to Facebook, Pawan said, "Hello everyone, I invite you to interact with me on a train journey from Vijayawada to Tuni on November 2." The JSP said that the journey would begin at 1:10 pm and end at Tuni at 5:20 pm.
Tuni seems to be a carefully handpicked decision by the JSP as the two districts of East and West Godavari are a stronghold of the Kapu community, from which Pawan hails.
The town also is significant, as it was here that the 'Kapu Garjana Mahasabha' in 2016, demanding reservation for the community in the state, turned violent. Protesters had set fire to the Ratnachal Express at Tuni, before they went on a rampage and damaged a police station besides police and private vehicles.
In 2016, Pawan himself, decided to register as a voter from Eluru, when a delegation of party leaders from West Godavari district called on him and made a request to this effect.
The actor had floated Jana Sena on the eve of 2014 elections but campaigned for the BJP-TDP alliance. Since then, he has lashed out at the state and central governments and said that he will contest all seats in Andhra Pradesh in the 2019 elections.