Will Chiru's glamour garner votes?
Hyderabad: Even as the ruling Congress announced the actor turned Congress leader K Chiranjeevi as its 'star campaigner' for the party in by-elections, state cabinet ministers are worried that the actor will not be able to get them votes as expected.
A senior Congress leader and cabinet minister from Andhra region, reportedly told his colleagues that Chiranjeevi will not help in consolidating his caste votes as majority of his community was angry with him for merging PRP with Congress.
Kapu community is a major caste in terms of population in several poll-bound assembly constituencies. The community is a politically dominant in Ramachandrapuram constituency in East Goadavari district and Naraspuram in West Godavari district.
The same community is the deciding factor for the victory of any political party in Payakaraopet, Rajampet, Anantapur, Tirupathi and Rayachoti where the by-elections are scheduled to be held on June 12.
The minister said that in the by-election for Kadapa Parliamentary constituency necessitated after the resignation of YS Jaganmohan Reddy, Chiranjeevi's campaign proved to be futile exercise for the party which forfeited its deposit in the prestigious election held in 2010.
In the recent by-election in Kovur assembly segment, political campaign taken up by Chiranjeevi also did not yield results as the party could manage to secure third position and YSR party won the election.
'Chiranjeevi is definitely a crowd-puller but not the choice of voters. Congress should utilize him only to mobilize people in the public meetings and not as the leader of voters', he is understood to have commented.
The cabinet minister felt that instead of Chiranjeevi, the campaign by Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana will at least yield some results in the by-election.
Following the opposition from cabinet minister, who is also in charge of some by-poll bound constituencies, the Congress party is thinking of alternative arrangements to take up intensified poll campaign from May last week.
News Posted: 17 May, 2012
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