Article: Chiru Needs Strategists Like NTR Had

Hyderabad: The legend goes that in the early eighties, before he formally entered politics, N T Rama Rao made a request to the Congress bosses to elevate his son-in-law N Chandrababu Naidu who was then a minister of state in the Congress government to the level of a Cabinet minister. The request was not kept. A little before that, NTR had apparently sought a nominated membership of Rajya Sabha; again his request had been kept aside. The superhero was miffed. He declared to his close friends that he would not go to anyone with a begging bowl, but rather form his own party and appoint ministers and MPs himself. The rest they say is history.

An old timer recalling this story wondered whether Chiranjeevi mulling over the prospects of entering politics had this spirit of NTR which made him take the plunge, oblivious of all the risks. “Chiranjeevi is faced with an Hamletian dilemma. But a decisive man has to be a risk taker. Remember fortune favours the brave,” the analyst said.

Nobody denies that Chiranjeevi has a huge fan following, especially among the youth segment in the ages of 18 to 24. But whether the superhero has a strategy to harness the raw youth power is the question.

A senior Kapu leader whose name is being bandied around as a possible entrant into the Chiranjeevi camp said: “NTR had a group of strategists who used to plan his moves and decide the publicity for him. If Chiranjeevi has such a core group, then we know nothing about them.” This leader points out that the fan clubs of Chiranjeevi have already become active in the last fortnight after word started doing the rounds that the superhero was planning a foray into politics. “The problem is that they have become aggressive, alienating other sections of youth - fan clubs of Mahesh Babu or Junior NTR. Chiranjeevi instead of dilly-dallying should appoint district secretaries who should channelise this raw power,” said the leader. However, it seems that Chiranjeevi’s emissaries are active over the last few days. Many politicians and professionals confirmed to STOI that Chirumen had sent feelers to them about the possibility of their making common cause with the superhero. Most of them are keeping their options open, not very sure of the shape that a new Chiranjeevi party will take. “We are interested in the new formation, but who along with him would occupy a vantage position is the issue. Will his brother-in-law Allu Aravind who controls his film destiny be hyperactive, whether younger brother, the quick tempered Pavan Kalyan play an important role will be an important issue,” said one professional, getting feelers.

But there is unanimity that Chiranjeevi’s party - when floated - would be a success. “There are a lot of disgruntled persons in the political stage. Chiranjeevi’s ability is immaterial at this point of time. They will use him as a glue to stick around. Chiranjeevi will provide a platform of sorts - especially for the Kapus who nurse the feeling of being non-entities in the political scene,” said an analyst. “But in the long run for the party to be successful, it would require proper party managers, programmers and continued charisma of Chiranjeevi. We have to see whether all these can combine,” the analyst added.

Linked to the whole issue is the question of Telangana. Many analysts feel that in the event of a Chiranjeevi threat if the Congress high command starts mulling on Telangana, the film star’s activities would be restricted to the Andhra area. This will contain him to a large extent.