Actor Pawan tests political waters with Telangana tour
HYDERABAD: With the heat rising in Tamil Nadu politics due to the entry of matinee idols Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, its two neighbours in the north, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, too, are set to witness a similar act, as popular Telugu actor Pawan Kalyan has decided to take a fullfledged plunge into politics.
Pawan, who had floated a regional political outfit, Jana Sena Party, shortly before the 2014 elections, had campaigned for the TDP- BJP combine.
He is now planning to test his political fortunes independently although detractors see state chief minister and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president K Chandrasekhar Rao’s hand behind it to “split the anti-incumbency votes” in the next elections, which is 15 months away.
On Monday, the actor started a four-day political tour of Telangana, after launching his party’s women’s wing Veera Mahila at the party headquarters.
His Russian wife Anna Lezhneva applied vermillion on his forehead and did “aarti” (ritual) before his started his tour. All religious prayers were held done earlier to bless him.
Dubbed “Chalo re Chalo re Chal” (a bit taken from the lyric of his popular Telugu film Jalsa), the tour began from Kondagattu, a pilgrimage centre in Jagitial district, after offering prayers to Lord Hanuman, his family deity.
Thousands of party workers and fans greeted him as he arrived at the temple town in a convoy of more than 50 cars.
Later, he left for Karimnagar town, where he addressed a gathering of party workers .
Speaking to media later, Pawan said he would tour different parts of the two Telugu states to understand people’s issues. “After my tour in Telangana in the next three days, I am planning to tour Anantapur in Andhra to study the drought-like situation there,” he said.
Congress leaders in Telangana tried to pick holes in Pawan’s campaign, saying he had strongly opposed the formation of Telangana from then-undivided Andhra . “How can he expect that his party would get the support in Telangana?” asked Congress leader Ponnam Prabhakar.