The battle for ballot in Andhra Pradesh is all set to witness a virtual war among the film stars owing allegiance to various political parties.
While some are directly jumping into the battlefield, others are taking part in a vigorous campaign for the parties that they support. However, majority of the film personalities are directly fighting the battle.
Though the ruling Congress does not have good number of Tollywood actors in its fold till recently, the party, of late, has succeeded is enlisting the support of many stars. The Rajasekhar couple, Sri Hari, Jayasudha and Padma Bhushan Krishna and his wife Vijaya Nirmala are all now girding up their lions to jump into the vigorous campaign trail.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which was floated by matinee idol N T Rama Rao about 16 years ago, is the one political outfit that nurses hopes of gaining popularity through filmi glamour. Thus, the TDP has already given the clearance for R K Roja to contest from Chadragiri Assembly segment in her home district of Chittoor and she has started her campaign attracting huge crowds.
To win the hearts of the crores of the voters, the TDP has roped in Bala Krishna, his brother Hari Krishna, Junior NTR, Taraka Ratna and Kalyan Ram, all from the Nandamuri clan and the lineage of the party founder. In fact, the TDP has the highest number of film stars either directly in the race or campaigning for the party. While Bala Krishna has thrown enough hints that he will contest the election, Hari Krishna is already the member of Rajya Sabha.
The Praja Rajyam Party (PRP), founded again by a Tollywood hero and Mega Star, Chiranjeevi, too has several actors in its kitty. Chiranjeevi’s brothers, Pawan Kalyan and Naga Babu and his (Chiranjeevi’s) brother-in-law Allu Arvind have already thrown their weight around the PRP founder. This apart, loud-mouthed Posani Krishna Murali, a film maker-cum-actor too has pledged his support to Chiranjeevi and the PRP is hopeful of attracting the public attention with these stars.
The Bharateeya Janata Party (BJP) is not lagging behind. It already has Tollywood heros of yesteryear Krishnam Raju and Naresh besides comedian Kota Srinivasa Rao. All of them were in the race for the 1999 and 2004 elections. Though Naresh has lost the polls in the 1999 elections, Krishnam Raju was the Member of Parliament from Narsapuram Lok Sabha constituency from 1999 to 2004 and Kota Srinivasa Rao represented the BJP in the Assembly from Vijayawada One segment during the same period.
They, however, unsuccessfully contested the 2004 polls and are getting ready again to throw their hat in the ring in the coming elections.
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) too has the filmi glamour. The founder of the Talli Telangana, Vijayashanthi, merged her party with the TRS recently and she is now all set to attract the voters in the Telangana region. Vijayashanthi is likely to be fielded by the TRS from some “important” seat to the Assembly.
Thus, all the political parties in Andhra Pradesh are now banking in filmi glamour and are pinning hopes in them to win the hearts of the voters in the coming polls.
While some are directly jumping into the battlefield, others are taking part in a vigorous campaign for the parties that they support. However, majority of the film personalities are directly fighting the battle.
Though the ruling Congress does not have good number of Tollywood actors in its fold till recently, the party, of late, has succeeded is enlisting the support of many stars. The Rajasekhar couple, Sri Hari, Jayasudha and Padma Bhushan Krishna and his wife Vijaya Nirmala are all now girding up their lions to jump into the vigorous campaign trail.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which was floated by matinee idol N T Rama Rao about 16 years ago, is the one political outfit that nurses hopes of gaining popularity through filmi glamour. Thus, the TDP has already given the clearance for R K Roja to contest from Chadragiri Assembly segment in her home district of Chittoor and she has started her campaign attracting huge crowds.
To win the hearts of the crores of the voters, the TDP has roped in Bala Krishna, his brother Hari Krishna, Junior NTR, Taraka Ratna and Kalyan Ram, all from the Nandamuri clan and the lineage of the party founder. In fact, the TDP has the highest number of film stars either directly in the race or campaigning for the party. While Bala Krishna has thrown enough hints that he will contest the election, Hari Krishna is already the member of Rajya Sabha.
The Praja Rajyam Party (PRP), founded again by a Tollywood hero and Mega Star, Chiranjeevi, too has several actors in its kitty. Chiranjeevi’s brothers, Pawan Kalyan and Naga Babu and his (Chiranjeevi’s) brother-in-law Allu Arvind have already thrown their weight around the PRP founder. This apart, loud-mouthed Posani Krishna Murali, a film maker-cum-actor too has pledged his support to Chiranjeevi and the PRP is hopeful of attracting the public attention with these stars.
The Bharateeya Janata Party (BJP) is not lagging behind. It already has Tollywood heros of yesteryear Krishnam Raju and Naresh besides comedian Kota Srinivasa Rao. All of them were in the race for the 1999 and 2004 elections. Though Naresh has lost the polls in the 1999 elections, Krishnam Raju was the Member of Parliament from Narsapuram Lok Sabha constituency from 1999 to 2004 and Kota Srinivasa Rao represented the BJP in the Assembly from Vijayawada One segment during the same period.
They, however, unsuccessfully contested the 2004 polls and are getting ready again to throw their hat in the ring in the coming elections.
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) too has the filmi glamour. The founder of the Talli Telangana, Vijayashanthi, merged her party with the TRS recently and she is now all set to attract the voters in the Telangana region. Vijayashanthi is likely to be fielded by the TRS from some “important” seat to the Assembly.
Thus, all the political parties in Andhra Pradesh are now banking in filmi glamour and are pinning hopes in them to win the hearts of the voters in the coming polls.
