Chiranjeevi’s support to TDP-JSP-BJP alliance, a blow to Congress, what will be the change in Andhra Pradesh politics?

In a video statement released by popular Tollywood hero and former Union Minister Konidela Chiranjeevi welcomed the alliance between Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Janasena Party and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the upcoming elections in Andhra Pradesh, bringing new political developments in the state politics. There has been a stir. Along with Janasena Party candidate Panchakarla Ramesh Babu from Pendurthi Assembly constituency and BJP candidate CM Ramesh from Anakapalle Lok Sabha constituency, Chiranjeevi, popularly known as Megastar, appealed to the people to vote for the right and honest candidates for overall development.

In his message, Chiranjeevi said that it has been many years since I talked about politics. After a gap of so many years, the main reason for speaking on state politics is my younger brother and Janasena Party President Pawan Kalyan. Chiranjeevi further said that it is a good development that Pawan Kalyan, TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu and the BJP leadership have come together to form an alliance. Another reason for me to come before you now is that my close friend CM Ramesh and another leader close to me Panchkarla Ramesh are contesting the elections. They are good and efficient and I strongly believe that they will continue to work for the development of Anakapalle.

This surprised the political ecosystem, as Chiranjeevi has been away from active politics for the last decade. He has admitted that his experience of trying his hand in Andhra politics was not pleasant. He launched Praja Rajyam with great fanfare in 2008, hoping to taste instant success like NT Rama Rao did in the 2009 elections. However, his party got only 18 seats. For Chiranjeevi, accustomed to the beauty of ego-boosting loud names like ‘Megastar’, being only one of the 294 MLAs in united Andhra Pradesh was a big letdown.

He later merged his party with Congress and in return he got a Rajya Sabha seat and the Union Tourism Ministry. After the Congress lost power in 2014, Chiranjeevi returned to the familiar world of greasepaint and studio arc light full time. Chiranjeevi’s support even surprised the Congress in Andhra Pradesh, which had only the previous day reminded people that the actor was still a member of record of the party. Its leaders said that if needed, they can also campaign for Congress candidates. Never mind that the actor was never seen on a party stage for many years. In the light of Chiranjeevi’s video, now the talk of joining hands with Congress has been clearly rejected.

Last week, Chiranjeevi had also given a check of Rs 5 crore to his younger brother and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan to help with the party’s election expenses. Pawan himself expressed surprise and said that he was waiting for Chiranjeevi’s blessings since 2014 when he launched Jana Sena. So what’s behind Chiranjeevi’s guest appearance in a political role? After all, he had gone to the extent of advising his good friends Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth not to make the same mistake and asked them to stay away from active politics.

Sources say that Chiranjeevi has been wooed in subtle ways for a long time. After the success of the film ‘RRR’ at the Oscars last year, Chiranjeevi and actor-son Ram Charan were honored by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi. CM Ramesh claims that he helped in that meeting. Ramesh says that apart from being a fan of Chiranjeevi, he has known the actor personally since the day they took oath together as Rajya Sabha members in 2012.