The Chiranjeevi factor

Megastar as he is famously called enjoys a demi-god status in Andhra Pradesh. But, can this star power be converted to political clout? To answer this question we have to go through the humble beginings of Chiranjeevi.

Chiranjeevi’s real name is Konidella Siva Shankara Vara Prasad and is born on August 22, 1955. He has struggled initially in his career with cameo roles. He started his movie career with Pranam Karidu. His real break came with the movie Khaidi which has catapulted him to a star to reckon with statu. He has grown leaps and bounds after that and the movies Yamudiki Mogudu and Marana Mrudangam has established him as the Mega Star. He has received Nandi awards (Highest award for telugu movies in Andhra Pradesh) for 3 films. He has also received Padma Bhushan recently for his humanitarian efforts and a doctorate from Andhra University. His 2003 movie Tagore, deals with corruption in the public offices. He runs a parallel government in this movie to eradicate corruption. This is when the speculations began about his inevitable entry into politics. He followed it up with another movie Stalin which has shades of political ambitions. He has grown in his career with his hard-work and dedication. Not only that he has given opportunites to many people who are a big success in the telugu film industry. He has tremendous support from the filmdom and known as a man who has steered away from controversies.

While, Chiranjeevi’s box-office strength is undisputed, but he might not want to add to the competion which has his brother, son and nephew. Having been in the public eye for 2 decades Chiranjeevi might not want to waste an opportunity to take the public support to the next level. Politics.

Whether Chiranjeevi can convert his box-office power to a political power remains to be seen. There are few things which can favor him.

Does he have the experience to lead 76 million Andhra people?
While he do not have any prior political experience, he is not short of leadership skills. Let us dissect his leadership skills.

1. Humanitarian initiatives like the Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust and Blood Bank have initiated some huge blood drives to collect blood and help the people in need of it. These initiatives along with his movies has fetched him Padma Vibhushan award.
2. Strategy - Every move of his might not be as calculated as Hillary Clinton, but Chiru is not short of strategy. His strategy is very evident in the past 8 years where he has taken up movies which has a social awareness element without ditching the masala element. He has also planned the entry of his brother, nephew and son with meticulous precision. None of their movies overlap in their releases. While, Allu Aravind his brother-in-law might be the public face, but it feels like it is Chiranjeevi who has been planning the moves. Can this translate to politics? A resounding yes.
3. Fund raising capabilities : The sheer sound of Chiranjeevi rings bells to all his fans. Especially, overseas collections are plenty if it is Chiranjeevi movies. His fans abroad and at home will be more than happy to donate funds to his campaign. Not that he needs it but, he should run a robust fund-raising campaign to gain the key following and support.
4. Presentation Skills : I really don’t have to talk about his presentation skills. His sheer presence is very magnetic and pulls crowds from all corners.
5. Communication Skills : He is an excellent orator and can talk at length. This is very prevalent of late at all award ceremonies and audio releases. He rocks. He will pull crowd and will not let them off the hook.

That is not an exhaustive list but he has the qualities needed for a leader. The question is how he transforms his magnetic charisma to achieve a greater cause, Helping the people of Andhra. Let us wait and see.

Winning chances : Whether, we like it or not, caste plays a very important role in every walk of life in India. Politics is no exception. Chiranjeevi comes from Kaapu caste which is a dominant caste in the coastal Andhra region. It would be hard for Chiranjeevi to not play the caste card. Though he want to maintain neutrality the party tickets to be given might just well be dominated by his caste. However, he will tread carefully, because winning on caste alone might be difficult. He will try to strike a balance with the other castes too. With the caste votes, fan votes his chances will be increased considerably. Consider this, Chandrababu Naidu leader of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has roped in film star family members, Balakrishan, NTR, Hari Krishna to campaign for his party. That indicates how big a threat Chiranjeevi really is. Even the Congress acknowledges this.

But, with TDP riding high on anti-incumbency factor, Congress riding high on the populist manifesto and the development in the past 4 years the task is cut out for Chiranjeevi. It was different when NTR contested as he was riding on anti-incumbency factor and populist schemes. Then, there was no alternative to Congress. Now along with Congress, we have TDP and Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) in the fray. Gaining a land slide victory or a big majority would be difficult. He might strike alliances or play a king maker role in the Andhra politics.

Joining an established party :
Chiranjeevi might not join Congress, TDP or TRS for two reasons.

1. If he joins an established party he has to play a second fiddle. He never played a second fiddle in the past 20 years be it in movies or the real life. He is used to playing the protagonist. His aspirations
   wouldn’t be any different in politics.
2. He might get a decent portfolio like a Home Minister but that might not be what he wants. Plainly Chiranjeevi wants to be the next Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

Party Name :
It would be hard to guess his party name but it should have a national appeal. He might refrain from using Telugu in his party name with the increasing role regional parties are playing at the centre. He might chose a name which has a broader appeal keeping the future in mind.

Party symbol :
He has to chose from the list of 67 free symbols available from the election commision. The symbols available have their drawbacks he might choose a neutral symbol. I am guessing 4 symbols to choose from which might be appealing to the voter :

1. Kite
2. Slate
3. Ring
4. Candles

Interesting things to watch are :

• How he plays the caste card
• How he deals with the Telangana issue.
• What alliances will he strike?
• Could he be the major power to reckon with, next to Mayawati in the general elections.

We just have to wait for the verdict of this blockbuster.

Technorati Tags: Chiranjeevi, elections, Telugu, Andhra, Andhra Pradesh

Other Links :

Can Chiranjeevi do an NTR in Andhra Pradesh

Congress faces a perfect storm in Andhra Pradesh

*Image courtesy : http://pagese.net/images/chiranjeevi.jpg

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