Maverick filmstar stirs up Andhra, Telangana politics

Suresh Dharur

All eyes are on popular Telugu film star Pawan Kalyan whose political plunge has stirred up activity in the two Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. With Assembly elections in the two states less than 15 months away, the actor has embarked on a mass contact programme in both states.

The maverick star, with a massive following among the youth, is known for being impulsive and outspoken. The 46-year-old actor of many hit movies, referred to as “power star” by fans, had floated the Jana Sena Party in March 2014, but had been largely inactive. Barring a few public appearances in support of certain public issues, he kept himself busy with shooting assignments.

In the runup to the 2014 elections, the mercurial star had supported the NDA, saying he was a Narendra Modi fan. He had campaigned for the BJP-Telugu Desam Party, a factor that played a key role in the TDP headed by N Chandrababu Naidu coming to power in Andhra Pradesh.

However, in his renewed political avatar, Kalyan has been critical of both the BJP and the TDP for “failing” to honour their promise of granting “special category” status to Andhra Pradesh which suffered a huge loss post bifurcation.

The question being asked in political circles is whether he will be a hit at the political box office or end up like his elder brother Chiranjeevi, whose tryst with politics was a  flop show. Chiranjeevi had floated “Praja Rajyam” in the runup to the 2009 elections but it failed to make an impact at the hustings. He subsequently merged the party with the Congress and became a Rajya Sabha member.

“I will be focusing on politics full time. I would like to play constructive politics. I am not focusing on how many seats our party will win in the next elections, but on finding solutions to people’s issues,” the actor declared as he began a four-day tour of Telangana districts of Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam.  For someone who had opposed the creation of Telangana and was involved in a fierce war of words with Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) founder president K Chandrasekhar Rao, the Telangana yatra was surprisingly a smooth sail.

 Ironically, the actor has showered praises on KCR, as the Chief Minister is called in political circles, for his hard work and innovative welfare schemes. Before launching his political tour, dubbed “Chalo re chalo, re chal” (inspired by a popular song from his film ‘Jalsa’), he had called on the CM, triggering speculation over a possible deal between the two leaders.

The Opposition Congress leaders suspect that the CM may be deliberately promoting Kalyan to split anti-incumbency votes.“Here is a person who had strongly opposed the formation of Telangana. How can he expect to win seats in Telangana?” asked Congress’ former Karimanagar MP P Prabhakar. 

In Andhra too the actor’s equation with the ruling TDP and CM N Chandrababu Naidu has been ambiguous. While focusing on the demand for special status, Kalyan has been careful not to attack the CM. The Jana Sena Party president said his party would contest only in those constituencies where it had winning chances. “We will disclose in a couple of months as to how many seats we will contest,” he said.

After completing the Telangana leg of his mass contact programme, the actor is now touring the backward Rayalaseema region in Andhra, demanding a special package for the perennially drought-prone region. “I am ready to take a delegation to Delhi to demand a special package for  Rayalaseema. I come from an agricultural family and I know the problems of the poor and the aspirations of the youth,” he has been reiterating at every rally. “We have identified 32 issues on which we will be going to the people. We will first build the organisation from grassroots,” he said. The special category status to Andhra, a demand that has been categorically rejected by the NDA government, is expected to be Kalyan’s key campaign theme in the 2019 General Election.

 Critics point out that Kalyan has been at best a freelance politician and lacks seriousness, strategy and organisation building-capacity required for a full-time politician. It remains to be seen whether the popular actor will be able to repeat the feat of the legendary NT Rama Rao who strode the film industry and politics like a colossus.