| Andhra Pradesh |
Superstar Chiranjeevi`s foray into politics, Left parties and TDP forging an electoral alliance and the Telangana issue assuming the centrestage once again dominated Andhra Pradesh`s political scene as the state
braced for next year`s elections.
Chiranjeevi: From reel to real
The year saw megastar Chiranjeevi’s foray into politices. The actor, who has acted in more than 140 films, launched his party ‘ Praja Rajyam’ in a true filmy style on August 26 at a public meeting in the temple town of Tirupati before lakhs of
his supporters and pledged to work for social justice and root
out corruption in the state.
Chiranjeevi`s entry into politics is expected to alter
political equations in the state which is dominated by two
major players -- TDP and Congress -- but no one is sure
whether he will recreate the magic of NTR, known as `devuda`
(god), who stormed to power within months of launching TDP, a
feat which has no parallel in the Indian political history.
The film star has also embarked on a state-wide tour to gouge the pulse of the people ahead of the elections in which his party, will in all probability, go on its own.
Political desertations
Former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP was
the worst-affected party in the `Chiranjeevi wave` with a
number of senior leaders, including Kotagiri Vidyadher Rao,
quitting the party to join Praja Rajyam.
TDP heavyweights like C Ramachandraiah, Tammineni
Seetaram, Bhuma Nagi Reddy and his wife Sobha Nagi Reddy and a
couple of MLAs and former MLAs quit their parent party and
joined Chiranjeevi camp.
Congress too saw many of its senior leaders parting
ways and joining Praja Rajyam, notable among them being former
Union Ministers P Shiv Shanker and P Upendra and former MPs Ch
Harirama Jogaiah and K S R Murthy.
The TDP, which was almost written off by the media
after Naidu`s close confidant T Devender Goud quit the party,
got a shot in the arm when Left parties sought its support to
defeat the Congress-led UPA in the July 22 trust vote.
Though the combine failed to unseat Congress, it still
hopes to form a third alternative at the national level and
has entered into an alliance to contest the Assembly and Lok
Sabha elections in Andhra.
The TDP chief also undertook a 100-day tour `mee
kosam` (for you) of the state to "create awareness about
corruption and failed governance of the Congress Government
and the mismanagement that has resulted in skyrocketing
prices."
The Telangana tussle
The Telangana issue which was at the back-burner after
the Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS) bit the dust in the
by-elections to 18 constituencies in the Telugu heartland,
came back to prominence after TDP, which was opposed to the
bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, and Chiranjeevi supported
creation of a separate statehood.
The by-elections were necessitated after sixteen MLAs
and four MPs belonging to the TRS resigned from their posts
charging the Congress with failing to deliver on its promise
of carving Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh.
However, the TRS was able to win only seven out of the
16 seats it held in the region, while the TDP bagged five and
Congress emerged victorious in six segments. While TRS managed
to retain two of the Lok Sabha seats it held, the Congress and
TDP won one seat each.
The year also saw one more party on the Telangana
plank with Goud launching his `Nava Telangana Party`.
Bureau Report |
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