All Chiranjeevi’s men

Hyderabad, August 29: When megastar Chiranjeevi launched his party on Tuesday at Tirupati, he was alone on the stage. Unlike other political party programmes, Chiranjeevi’s speech was not preceded by any other leader from his party. No one spoke after him. There were no chairs on the dais, no welcome speeches, no bouquet presentations and no second-rung leaders fussing over their chief, inviting him to speak after they were done with their speeches.

Right now, Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam seems to be a one-man party. Though it was expected that he would introduce a few important members of his party, Chiranjeevi decided to keep the spotlight on himself at the party’s launch. Currently, there is no one in the fledgling party other than Chiranjeevi who can be introduced to the public. Praja Rajyam is yet to be structured, there are no known public faces, there is no president, no office-bearers. Chiranjeevi’s aides say that when he starts touring the state and addressing public meetings and begins to get a grip on politics in the state, the party would be entirely unveiled. However, there are a few persons who will ultimately comprise the core group — a doctor who is also a communist, a successful film-maker, his actor-brother, two IAS officers, an expelled TDP leader and a renegade TDP couple.

Chiranjeevi’s mentor and brother-in-law Allu Arvind, a film-maker, did all the groundwork before the party was launched. Allu Arvind will continue to organise things for Chiranjeevi — be it mobilising fan clubs, arranging finance, tying up with NRIs or setting up special cells within the party. So far, he has kept himself away from the limelight. And perhaps the film-maker would like to remain behind the scenes. “It is unlikely that Allu Arvind would contest the elections or take up a post in the party. He won’t be seen as one of the party’s political leaders. He will be operating from behind the curtain, steering and advising the party,” a source says.

Dr P Mitra is a London-returned professional doctor who flirted with the Lok Satta Party for a few years before joining Chiranjeevi. A communist, Dr Mitra is apparently helping in framing the party’s policy. Except for addressing fans and followers in the IT industry, doctors and senior citizens, Dr Mitra has kept himself away from the public eye. His influence on the megastar can be gauged from the stand that Chiranjeevi took on Naxalism, which he described as a social issue born out of poverty rather than a law and order problem. He also questioned the logic behind taking away land from farmers for SEZs — this too fits with Left ideology. Chiranjeevi’s family has known Dr Mitra for over 25 years. Dr Mitra’s brother is a film-maker based at Chennai. “At a later date, Dr Mitra might join Chiranjeevi in contesting elections. At present, there are no such indications and he is happy working in the background. In the coming months he may emerge as the party’s number two,” says a source.

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