The political scenario in Andhra Pradesh made headlines in the national media when the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) chief Chiranjeevi announced the merger of his party with the Congress. Observers say this is not a great development for the party. And for the Opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP), it has only one party to fight with now, for the next elections.
The grapevine is that the high command in the Congress is wooing K Chandrasekhar Rao?s Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) for a possible merger?making a single strong party in the state that can take on TDP and Jaganmohan Reddy?s YSR Party. But Chiranjeevi is keeping the party agenda close to his heart, even while he plans to storm tinsel town yet again. Chiranjeevi, it appears, wants an image makeover and thinks that the Congress can help him do that.
A massive crowd puller, Chiranjeevi (popularly called Chiru) claims only party flags have changed, not his agenda. He has been spreading the message that his life?s mission is to become a true politician but would act in movies if he gets a good script to further his party?s agenda. His fans, though, are now caught between two worlds.
PRP, which was formed in 2008, has officially merged with the Congress party. PRP won 18 out of 294 assembly seats, and had promised to make deep inroads into the state and become a major political force. Chiranjeevi contested two assembly seats?Tirupathi and Palacole?and won in Tirupathi. Social justice and fighting corruption formed the pillars of the PRP manifesto.
Chiru?s entry into the merged entity will bring about an alliance between the dominant Dalit and Kapu voters in East Godavari district and put the issue beyond rivals. As he claims, the merger is supposed to be a morale booster. Way back, the ruling Congress party started rocking in the state after the sudden demise of YS Rajasekhara Reddy. Rosaiah, the then CM, could not manage the ever-growing political instability and finally resigned. The new CM Kiran Kumar Reddy is facing hurdles from YSR?s son Jaganmohan Reddy, who wanted to become the next CM. The Congress high command is betting on Chiranjeevi?s mass appeal. It feels Chiranjeevi can help balance caste factors in the Kapu region where his party is quite strong.
Chiranjeevi?s star value can also help to counter Jagan?s youthful appeal. But for three PRP MLAs who opposed the merger, the rest were fine with this union. Analysts feel that there would be no separate identity for PRP after this merger. Has Congress found its new hero in AP? Only time will tell.