A group of Chiranjeevi aides have been working in the state to assess what people really want. This group comprises Dr P Mitra, Dr P Vinay, T V Rao, T Brahma Reddy and Y L N Rao of the Jana Vignana Vedika, ex-special chief secretary and ex-Congress MP from Amalapuram K S R Murthy, who is also a Dalit leader.

Chiranjeevi is also known to have met retired IAS officers like S R Sankaran and Gopal Rao. Rao has been working for welfare of the backward classes and is advising him on the SCST situation in the state and how to woo them, since Chiranjeevi’s party is expected to be an alternative to the upper class-dominated Congress and TDP.

However, according to political observer Parkal Prabhakar, Chiranjeevi is not very confident about his party’s performance. “Except for coastal Andhra, Chiranjeevi knows he may not be such a big draw as a politician in other areas, especially in Telangana,” Prabhakar said.

The megastar’s apprehensions are not misplaced. A close associate of Arvind said the core group has cautioned that Chiranjeevi’s party cannot be seen as caste-based, although it has to nurture the image of an alternative to the Reddy-dominated Congress and Kamma-dominated TDP. All this is delaying the launch further.

It is a piquant situation, as everyone seems to be ready, except for the man himself.

However, it reminds one of a dialogue from the 1993 blockbuster Mutamestri in which Chiranjeevi becomes the CM at the end of the film: “Nenu Rajakiyalloki vasthanu mastaru. Padukunna simhanni nidra lepithey emi jaruguthundo choopisthanu.” (“I will join politics. I will show what happens when a sleeping lion is disturbed.”)

... contd.