Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam   

Rama Naidu tricked!

Star producer D. Rama Naidu must have watched artistes using their sleight of hand in films. He had a first-hand experience of his pocket being picked for the first time in real life at the inauguration of his own studio in the city on Sunday.

Interestingly, the inauguration was done by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and there was heavy security arrangements. The pickpocket was, perhaps, adept at his role in real life.

‘Megastar’ Chiranjeevi has announced his entry into politics.

He promises clean and good governance if people support him and enable him to come to power. Perhaps, he is now aware that money and muscle power have a role to play in the present day politics.

For most of the big meetings addressed by politicians, we hear that the crowd is mobilised by paying Rs.100, a biryani packet and a quarter of liquor per head. During elections, they spend even more money to garner votes, it is said.

With two major political parties – the Congress and the Telugu Desam – already in existence, one has to wait and see what strategies Chiranjeevi will adopt to defeat them in the next elections which are not far away.

Actor Chiranjeevi has given an ideological perch to his party when he declared that he had no political rivals and only poverty and hunger are his enemies. In a political atmosphere permeated with mutual recrimination, it sounds fresh and the actor seems to have broken a new ground.

His declaration is in stark contrast to the fierce anti-Congress stance adopted by the founder of TDP and thespian NTR way back in 1982, whose inspiration Chiranjeevi has acknowledged. NTR was challenging the monopoly of Congress at that time.

Chiranjeevi now has to contend with several major political forces.

While the TDP and the Congress are firmly entrenched, the Left parties have aligned with both of them in the past. The BJP had aligned with the TDP and fell out while the Congress and the TRS are estranged allies.

Chiranjeevi’s political sweepstakes will not come from the new voters who have crossed 18 years alone presuming they plump for him and he has to carve out a constituency from among the other sections as well. These sections had earlier voted to one combine or the other and unless Chiranjeevi cuts into them, he cannot create a vote bank of his own.

His rising above political lines as of now to fight inequalities and issues of concern to people will give the party an ideological grounding and at the same time take away the rancour of attacking other political parties.

The same assertion keeps his options open on alignments at the State and national level as well.

Whether it’s the result of months of parleys in the inner circle of his yet-untitled party or political sagacity, Chiranjeevi struck a chord among people by not pointing accusing fingers (at other parties).

B. Madhu Gopal, Prabhakkar Sharma and G.V. Prasada Sarma

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