Will Chiru be YSR‘s rival No.1?

With it being clear now that elections are around the corner, there is increased activity in the Chiranjeevi Camp. Led by Allu Aravind - the man who manages the actor‘s film affairs - Chiranjeevi men are giving final touches to the party organisation which will be used to launch the mega star. This is even as many Congressmen and hordes of Telugu Desam Party men wait in the wings to jump on to Chiranjeevi‘s bandwagon.

"Rightly or wrongly, many believe that the main opposition to YSR in the next elections would come from Chiranjeevi, which is why the impatience of many to hitch-hike with Chiranjeevi," said a political analyst. Highly-placed sources say Allu Aravind, who is also Chiranjeevi‘s brother-in-law, is confabulating with many who in normal circumstances one would not expect would join the film star‘s party.

A sizeable number of Congressmen who are uncomfortable with YSR or his brand of politics are expected to join Chiranjeevi. In the case of TDP, it would be leaders who feel that Chandrababu Naidu has lost his focus and is going nowhere. "No, no," claimed a senior TDP politician, "the Congress has stolen our ideas and has granted debt relief to farmers." But when pressed agreed that many TDP leaders could well desert the party for Chiranjeevi. "There could well be a Kamma-Kapu alliance," said a political analyst. Other analysts pointed out that with the perception gaining ground that Chiranjeevi will be the main opposition, many smaller parties might come forward to explore the possibility of an alliance with him.

The earlier plan of the mega star was to launch the party in August and take a whirlwind tour of the state. This was based on the understanding that the elections would be in April, which would allow the mega star eight months to campaign. Now the feeling is that the elections would be in October-November, so there will be a commensurate advancement on the party launch date. Analysts pointed out that Chiranjeevi remains committed to project his party as one supported by all sections of the society and underplay the Kapu angle.The party is also expected to be portrayed as one that reflects the aspirations of the youth and stands for values like truth, honesty and fight against corruption.