Certainly, Andhra Pradesh’s next blockbuster is not a Tollywood movie. It is the long and much-awaited launch of a political party by Konidela Siva Shankara Vara Prasad aka Chiranjeevi. This potboiler is unfolding on the sidelines of a volatile political environment and changing equations in the state: senior leaders are quitting the Telugu Desam Party (TDP); the Congress is wooing filmstars into its fold; the much-hyped Telangana Rashtriya Samiti has bit the dust; there is competition from Nava Telangana Praja Party launched recently by T Devender Goud who quit the TDP; Chandrababu Naidu has roped in the support of the NTR family.

The megastar himself has not said a word about his political intentions, except asking his fans to be patient. But, by flashing those enigmatic smiles and shying away from saying anything in public, Chiranjeevi has kicked up frenzy among his followers. For them, his entry into politics is nothing less than the crowning of a monarch.

Insiders are confidant that he is playing his cards right by delaying the launch. “Chiranjeevi is likely to announce his political party at a time when it is neither too early nor too late for the April 2009 elections. If the party is launched in August or September, he and his aides can shape the party’s image around the hype and fanfare that’s going to last for three to four months,” said a member of the star’s core group.

However, political analysts feel that the way things are being managed, it does not augur well for Chiranjeevi. First, his brother-in-law Allu Arvind is calling all the shots and though it appears that the megastar has given him a free hand, it is sending wrong message to people as to who is in-charge. Arvind’s clout within the family is likely to result in friction with Chiranjeevi’s actor-brothers, Pawan Kalyan and Nagendra Babu.

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