Having been a fan of Chiru since my pre-adolescent years, like millions of other fans, I have been anxiously paying attention to his entry into the political arena. Having witnessed his foray into politics, as his fan and well-wisher, I must admit it was a lacklustre performance. Having said that, his speech might have pleased his scores of fans who attended the meeting and those who were watching live on TV. But, there exactly lies the catch where they probably have put the love for their film star and his party above the country. Indian masses have this notoriously dangerous obsession either with a political party or a film star and they would be willing to vote, and they had in the past, without even considering the agenda and this was true in the case of the Late N.T.R and MG.R. On their first day, these two late veterans must have made exactly the same promises that Chiru made and according to some sources the inaugural speech for NTR and Chiru, was compiled by a same person, a prominent film writer. When you look back at those pledges made by NTR and MGR- unfortunately neither they nor their promises survive today.
But, his altruistic motives for entering into the politics cannot be questioned. He proved himself to be a committed social worker by establishing eye and blood banks in the state. And he has a rare trait that is seldom found in fellow politicians- he has clean record and is a non-controversial figure, at least for now. On the day of announcing the party, he promised to change the fate of the state but didn’t delve further into how intends to achieve that. That announcement of his kick-started a mass exodus of opportunists from other parties- Mr. Hariram Jogiah, Mr K. VidyadharRao and his confidant M.R.D Balaram, a liquor baron, factionist Mr.Bhooma Nagireddy etc.and scores of others have now announced their loyalty to Chiranjeevi .
But I think Chiru is treading on a slippery slope by warmly embracing these opportunistic elements. There was hardly any screening process for the eligibility into his party and the only one looks like one had to be political leader already with some influence. Take the case of Mr.Bhooma Nagireddy, who has been accused of murders, intimidation and had cases of non-bailable arrest warrants for contempt of the court and has about 15 cases pending in the court. In the other case of M.R.D.Balaram, who could be a potential candidate from Eluru, being a close confidant of Kotagiri Vidyadhar Rao, had Rs. 1 lakh reward for information leading to his arrest, in connection with Operation Kolleru , and was previously arrested for serving the meat of 62 migratory birds in a feast that he hosted in Kolletikota village.
With all due respect to Chiru, he lacks the political acumen and his mentor Dr.Mitra although a well informed and educated individual, is probably not weighing up the opportunities and strengths properly. There is absolutely no guarantee that the likes of Nagi Reddy and Balaram, share the same vision that of Chiranjeevi and worse they don’t give a hoot about welfare of the state and social justice. These people will not give Chiranjeevi the freedom or the flexibility to actively pursue his agenda if they conflict with their personal interests. If Chiru and Dr.Mitra fail to select right members for their party, Prajarajyam will be another party, just like TDP and Congress, with a different name and a flag , not one that Chiru envisages.
Chiru in his speech, claimed that it was not his intention to grab the power by whatever means but to serve the people because people have requested him to come into politics. If Chiru is so confident in his ability and peoples’ will, he must not worry about recruiting influential people in his party with mediocre backgrounds but should try to infuse young, educated and visionary intellectuals. But unfortunately, it looks like his strategies point towards only one direction- to win the coming assembly elections next year. Although, there is nothing wrong with trying to achieve that, but in doing so he is still relying on the same old political figureheads. Unlike, Loksatta party, where the nomination of party candidates has been very careful, transparent and thorough, nomination of candidates in Prajarajyam party, I feel, is being hastened with little insight and vision, for short term political gains. Having said that, Chiru could still win the election and become the CM, but I doubt if his party members will contribute to the fulfilment of his vision of Sampoornandhra Pradesh.
But, his altruistic motives for entering into the politics cannot be questioned. He proved himself to be a committed social worker by establishing eye and blood banks in the state. And he has a rare trait that is seldom found in fellow politicians- he has clean record and is a non-controversial figure, at least for now. On the day of announcing the party, he promised to change the fate of the state but didn’t delve further into how intends to achieve that. That announcement of his kick-started a mass exodus of opportunists from other parties- Mr. Hariram Jogiah, Mr K. VidyadharRao and his confidant M.R.D Balaram, a liquor baron, factionist Mr.Bhooma Nagireddy etc.and scores of others have now announced their loyalty to Chiranjeevi .
But I think Chiru is treading on a slippery slope by warmly embracing these opportunistic elements. There was hardly any screening process for the eligibility into his party and the only one looks like one had to be political leader already with some influence. Take the case of Mr.Bhooma Nagireddy, who has been accused of murders, intimidation and had cases of non-bailable arrest warrants for contempt of the court and has about 15 cases pending in the court. In the other case of M.R.D.Balaram, who could be a potential candidate from Eluru, being a close confidant of Kotagiri Vidyadhar Rao, had Rs. 1 lakh reward for information leading to his arrest, in connection with Operation Kolleru , and was previously arrested for serving the meat of 62 migratory birds in a feast that he hosted in Kolletikota village.
With all due respect to Chiru, he lacks the political acumen and his mentor Dr.Mitra although a well informed and educated individual, is probably not weighing up the opportunities and strengths properly. There is absolutely no guarantee that the likes of Nagi Reddy and Balaram, share the same vision that of Chiranjeevi and worse they don’t give a hoot about welfare of the state and social justice. These people will not give Chiranjeevi the freedom or the flexibility to actively pursue his agenda if they conflict with their personal interests. If Chiru and Dr.Mitra fail to select right members for their party, Prajarajyam will be another party, just like TDP and Congress, with a different name and a flag , not one that Chiru envisages.
Chiru in his speech, claimed that it was not his intention to grab the power by whatever means but to serve the people because people have requested him to come into politics. If Chiru is so confident in his ability and peoples’ will, he must not worry about recruiting influential people in his party with mediocre backgrounds but should try to infuse young, educated and visionary intellectuals. But unfortunately, it looks like his strategies point towards only one direction- to win the coming assembly elections next year. Although, there is nothing wrong with trying to achieve that, but in doing so he is still relying on the same old political figureheads. Unlike, Loksatta party, where the nomination of party candidates has been very careful, transparent and thorough, nomination of candidates in Prajarajyam party, I feel, is being hastened with little insight and vision, for short term political gains. Having said that, Chiru could still win the election and become the CM, but I doubt if his party members will contribute to the fulfilment of his vision of Sampoornandhra Pradesh.
1 comment:
Can't agree with you more. Good narration. Hope those fanatics have a fraction of wisdom you showing.
In fact I doubt Chiru's integrity here. If he meant as much as he said ("serve people" n "no need for power") he would have joined in LSP instead of setting his own party.
Post a Comment