"I'm Jealous Of Vijay": Pawan Kalyan Quips He Roamed Streets For 15 Years

Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Janasena party leader Pawan Kalyan displayed unusual honesty at a public event on Monday. While speaking about his 15-year political journey, the actor-turned-politician admitted he felt a bit jealous watching Tamil Nadu's new Chief Minister Vijay, also an actor, achieve success so quickly.

Addressing his party members, Kalyan remarked that observing Tamil Nadu politics these days makes him feel like others have it easier.

"I look at Tamil politics these days; they've done it so carefree. I felt jealous. They won using cutouts and holograms happily," he said with a laugh.

He then turned serious and said, "I have been wandering the streets for fifteen years."

Pawan Kalyan during an election public rally in 2019

He added, "Managing a political party means uniting hundreds of thousands of people. We can't even get our own family members to agree on a single thing," he explained. "Starting a party and attempting to transform society was a massive risk."

He had earlier rejected direct comparisons between the politics and leadership of the neighbouring southern states, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

At an earlier event in Amaravati this month, he told his party workers that Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are simply not comparable politically and that his alliance-based approach made sense for Andhra, even if it took more time.

Vijay, TVK's Blockbuster Win

Vijay, who also transitioned from acting to politics, saw his party TVK achieve a remarkable victory in the recent Tamil Nadu assembly election.

Vijay, who launched his party TVK in 2024, secured 108 seats and became the largest party in 2026, ending decades of dominance by the longstanding Dravidian parties DMK and AIADMK, and subsequently became the Chief Minister of the prominent southern state.

Film stars becoming successful politicians is common in South India. NT Rama Rao, MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa have gone out to become chief ministers after moving out of cinema.

Pawan Kalyan's Janasena Journey

Pawan Kalyan founded his Janasena party in 2014. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the party won just one seat. Kalyan also lost in both constituencies he contested. Many questioned whether the party would survive.

However, as a serious political contender, Kalyan, popularly known as 'Power Star' by his supporters, refused to quit. He gradually built his organisation and eventually allied with the BJP and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

In the 2024 Andhra Pradesh elections, the Janasena Party delivered its best-ever electoral performance, emerging as a decisive force in the TDP-BJP-JSP "Kutami" (NDA) alliance. His party contested all 21 Assembly seats, achieving a rare 100% success rate by winning every constituency it contested.

He also won from the Pithapuram constituency by over 70,000 votes, marking his first Assembly victory.