The Hindu : Front Page : Praja Rajyam has aces up its sleeve

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Praja Rajyam has aces up its sleeve

S. Nagesh Kumar

‘Key announcements held back to prevent government from copying them’

People hungry for a change, says Parakala Prabhakar
Unique selling points will cover weavers, farmers

HYDERABAD: The Praja Rajyam plans to hold back some key announcements on welfare and development till after notification of the schedule for the general elections as it fears that the Congress government may copy and implement them for gaining political mileage.

These unique selling points, as party spokesman Parakala Prabhakar described them, will cover farmers, weavers, the power sector and irrigation sectors. Once the election code of conduct is in force, the Congress government cannot appropriate them as its own decisions, he told this correspondent.

Election manifesto

Seeking to dispel criticism that his party had nothing substantial to offer by way of policy, he said these would be spelt out in the election manifesto. Five sub-committees working on the draft had submitted their reports on December 31.

These would be amalgamated into a single document after seeking feedback from the district committees.

Mr. Prabhakar said the PR leadership was upbeat about its electoral prospects, not merely because of the large turnout at Mr. Chiranjeevi’s meetings. He drew a parallel between the present political scenario and the one in 1978 when the Congress (R) headed by a relatively non-controversial Chief Minister Jalagam Vengal Rao was defeated.

Similarly, although Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy was not unpopular, people were hungry for a change because of their anger against Ministers and MLAs. The TDP, he claimed, could not fill this gap because people had enough of it from 1994 to 2004.

Admitting that internal bickering between Chiranjeevi’s fans and party workers posed a headache, he said they were able to contain them by accommodating the former in ad hoc committees. Mr. Nagendrababu, the star’s brother, was working full time to resolve these differences.

The Praja Rajyam spokesman claimed that the party had received a whopping 60,000 “serious applications” from aspirants for the 294 Assembly and 42 Lok Sabha seats.

The leadership had its task cut out in whetting them. It would give marks for record of social service and those who had quit their present professions to join the party.

29 lakh members

Mr. Prabhakar said Mr. Chiranjeevi had produced proof of 29 lakh paid membership, besides videos and newspaper clippings of the massive attendance at his public appearances when he met the Election Commissioners in New Delhi last week seeking a common symbol for the party.

There was no logical reason for the EC to deny a common symbol to the party, he added.

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