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Chiranjeevi’s brother Pawan set to float party

Andhra Pradesh is set to see the rise of yet another film star in the political horizon, with popular Tollywood hero Pawan Kalyan, brother of Union Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi, gearing up to take the political plunge on March 14, when he is expected to announce the launch of his party.

The new political party is to be named “Jana Sena” (People’s Army). Fondly called by his fans as “Power Star,” the 42-year-old actor is expected to unveil his party’s policies, programmes and other details at a press conference on Friday. According to sources in the film star’s camp, the new party will put up candidates both in Telangana and Seemandhra regions.

Kalyan, the star of several blockbusters, is likely to contest Lok Sabha election from Malkajgiri in the city and Kakinada in the coastal region. “The main objective of the new party is to strive for honesty, integrity and genuine service in public life. It will promise corruption-free and responsive governance,” the sources said.

Rumoured to be among the highest paid actors along with Mahesh Babu, NTR Jr and Nagarjuna, he is said to be nursing a strained relationship with his elder brother Chiranjeevi, himself an accomplished actor.

Known for his mercurial temperament and penchant for slipping into reclusion, Kalyan, however, has a huge fan following and a string of mega hits including the recent blockbuster “Gabbar Singh,” a Telugu remake of Salman Khan starrer “Dabangg.” The actor is said to be unhappy with the way Chiranjeevi handled his political career and is strongly opposed to the policies of the ruling Congress. Chiranjeevi, adored in film circles as “megastar,” had a disastrous political show and ended up merging his three-year-old Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) with the Congress in June 2011 in return for a central cabinet berth for himself and positions of power for his close aides in the state.

After floating PRP in 2008 as an alternative to Congress and Telugu Desam Party on the plank of “social justice,” he failed to convert his star power into votes. As a result, the party bombed at the ballot box in the 2009 elections, drawing blank in the Lok Sabha while managing to win just 18 seats in the 294-member Assembly.

While skeptics argue that Kalyan may go Chiranjeevi’s way as he is not cut-out for electoral politics despite massive fan following, his supporters point out that he could emerge as a formidable force, particularly in the Seemandhra region where “Kapu” community, to which he belongs, accounts for nearly 27 per cent of the total electorate.

— news@khaleejtimes.com