Chiranjeevi Ready to conquer Andhra Politics

DID THE Telugu megastar Chiranjeevi stoop to conquer? Going by the agenda his party has set for itself, it would appear so. As we said in these columns, he is scheduled to formally launch his political party on August 15 (vide, “Congress cannot lampoon Chiru”). Chiranjeevi’s brother-in-law, Allu Arvind, released the agenda to the press, on behalf of Chiranjeevi (Chiru). At times, the agenda sounded more like an invective.

It said that the people of Andhra Pradesh (AP) had all along elected either the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) or the Congress party. But neither party could improve the lot of the poor, because at the district level, the two parties were under the control of rowdies. Rowdies generally usurped whatever the people of the country had earned by the sweat of their brow. They were not interested in the welfare of the country or the welfare of the people. They were good only at festooning the roads with banners and party flags, installing cutouts, putting up posters (to print, which they spend lakhs of rupees), daubing the walls with graffiti and collecting campaign contribution – all in the name of their party leaders. It resulted in squandering of public money, which did not benefit the people at all. So he had decided to enter the political field.

In the first phase, he would rid the political field of rowdies. Rowdies who had disrupted law and order and hence had to be behind bars had been roaming freely as ministers, Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and Members of Parliament (MPs). Ridding the political field of such rowdies would transform the country into a superpower. On the industrial front, the country was making rapid progress. Amongst the richest in the world were many Indians. At the same time, there were many poor people who did not know where to go for the next meal. So, he would eliminate the disparity between the rich and the poor. He would transform Andhra Pradesh into a poverty-free state. The Congress party and the TDP had been maintaining that it was an impossible task. It was impossible for the two parties because they had exploited the poor people all along. But he could do it. To eliminate poverty he was drawing up effective plans with the help of experts in economics.He wholeheartedly believed that the people of Andhra Pradesh would provide him an opportunity to transform the political field into something sacred.

Chiranjeevi’s vow to rid the state of politicians-cum-rowdies has made several leaders uncomfortable. Many from the Congress party and the TDP have desired to join Chiranjeevi’s party. But the megastar has declined to admit leaders with criminal background. It is to be noted that not only his fans but also non-government organisations, government employees’ associations, student bodies, social workers, doctors’ associations and lawyers’ associations have been appealing to the megastar to enter politics and cleanse the government of corruption.