Chiru woos fans with promises

Strengthening network: Praja Rajyam president Chiranjeevi garlanded by his fans at a meeting in Hyderabad on Sunday. -

HYDERABAD: In an attempt to retain his fans, Praja Rajyam president K. Chiranjeevi on Sunday called a few hundreds of them from across the State and held a three-hour meeting.
While the media was invited only for ‘visuals’, it was understood that the megastar-turned-politician wanted to ensure that the fans were with him ‘well and truly’.

He assured them that they would be ‘well-looked-after’ when the party rose to a position of prominence soon, reminding them that they would be preferred in the polls to municipalities and other local bodies.

Mr. Chiranjeevi invited those who left the party to come back, saying they were all like his family. “It is common for siblings to have differences, but they still remain part of the family,” he stated.

Prominent among those present was B. Ramu Yadav, newly-appointed State president of ‘Rashtra Chiranjeevi Yuvatha’, considered to be the official body of the megastar’s fans.

A fan since 1984, he became president after Ch. Venkateswara Rao and about half-a-dozen others joined the Congress in the presence of Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy a few days ago.

Mr. Rao and another fan, Vittal Rao, from Krishna district and Tanuku Ganapati, from West Godavari district, were all peeved at being denied party ticket and hence shifted their loyalties. Mr. Yadav, though being denied a ticket from Amberpet, was satisfied that Mr. Chiranjeevi initially offered him ticket from Malakpet.

Visibly happy

“I politely declined and worked for the party nominee from Amberpet,” he said. Refusing to go on record, some ‘fans’ were happy at being invited for the interaction. They were bubbling with enthusiasm at the reception from the PR president, having been his fans for decades. The meeting was a rarity, considering that no party functionary was present.