Will Congress in the state retain its power in 2014? The answer to this question would be uncertain as scores of people in Andhra Pradesh said the ball was in the court of Congress. Yes, Congress coming to power in 2014 is absolutely in the hands of Congress. Majority of people in the state stressed they would vote for Congress party in case Chiranjeevi is declared as the chief minister candidate.
Congress leader and MLA, Jogi Ramesh seemed to have caught the pulse of the audience as he made sensational statements that apparently brought smiles on faces of thousands. The leader said Congress MP Chiranjeevi would become the chief minister in 2014. He said Chiranjeevi was the only leader with all abilities to run the government. He has also said that the Congress high command would fulfill their desire. This is not the case with just Jogi Ramesh but almost every leader in the state wants Chiranjeevi to become the chief minister.
Need for an able leader:
After the death of late YSR, there was no proper leader in the Congress party to shoulder its complete responsibility and lead the party towards success instead of just enjoying fruits. And Kiran Kumar Reddy seems to have failed in gaining the confidence of the public as well as Congress leaders. The sources said that many leaders were apparently unhappy with Kiran Kumar Reddy and that was the only reason why they are tilting towards YSR Congress.
Chiranjeevi is the leader:
There's a true leader in Chiranjeevi, said many political analysts. When he played a pivotal role in films, he didn't look at his mere individual profits but lead the film industry towards the success bringing Telugu film industry on par with Tamil industry and even Bollywood. Thanks to Chiranjeevi who was even hailed by a super star like Amitabh Bachchan.
The same leadership qualities made him take up voluntary social service. His concern for the public made him kickstart blood banks and eye banks. Today, Chiranjeevi blood bank is one the top blood banks in the state. Every year, lakhs of people choose Chiranjeevi blood bank to donate their blood and that's because of the love they have towards Chiranjeevi.
Chiranjeevi as chief minister:
When Chiranjeevi plunged into politics, people who voted for Chiru's Praja Rajyam Party apparently wanted him to become an MP. All they had in their minds was 'our favourite leader would now lead the state.' Unfortunately, YSR's charisma benefitted Congress otherwise Chiranjeevi would have become the chief minister in 2009 itself. Nonetheless, people wanted to look Chiranjeevi as the chief minister in 2014.
Chiranjeevi notices ideologies of Congress:
When in opposition, Chiranjeevi was impressed with the ideas and ideologies of Congress party. He believed that only a national party, which has its roots in more than a couple of seats, can do social justice (which is Chiranjeevis' only motive). Looking at the noble ideas of the high command, Chiranjeevi merged his PRP with Congress not to get positions but to achieve his dreams of seeing middle class people happy.
People still want Chiru to take the lead:
People in Andhra Pradesh still want Chiranjeevi to become the chief minister. And they expressed the opinion when AndhraWishesh carried out a detailed research and took public opinion in Tirupati recently. The people said they were angry with Congress since the party-instead of declaring Chiranjeevi as the chief minister candidate-made him the Member of the Parliament. To send strong message to the Congress, they apparently didn't vote for Congress in Tirupati. People in Tirupati pleaded Congress party to give their leader back to them. They urged Congress to make Chiranjeevi the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh.
Seniors wanted Chiru as national player:
Many Congress leaders in the state presumably wanted Chiranjeevi to play key role at the centre apparently to keep their seats safe. But, things didn't work out properly as leaders in the state couldn't manage to win public faith during bypolls.
Mass appeal:
Apart from leadership qualities, Chiranjeevi is having so much of mass appeal. More than 80 per cent of people who watch films on regular basis in AP are fans of Chiranjeevi. So in case each fans casts his/her vote for Chiranjeevi, then Congress would come to power for sure. And they would vote for any Congress candidate in their constituency keeping in mind that the vote they are casting for any Congress leader in the constituency would be making Chiranjeevi the chief minister. If he's not ceclared the chief minister candidate, Chiranjeevi would definately win in his constituency with majority of votes but in other constituencies Congress leaders may not get votes because people generally look at top leadership.
CM responsible for defeat in bypolls:
In the recent bypolls to 18 assembly constituencies, Congress won two seats and the defeat of party in bypolls is because of CM , said political analysts. In fact, senior leader Shankar Rao has also said that the bypoll was not failure of Congress by failure of Kiran sarkar. So, it clearly reflects that senior leaders are extremly unhappy with Kiran Kumar Reddy and Botsa Satyanarayana as the chief minister and PCC chief.
High command closely watching at developments:
The Congress high command is apparently recording the public and leaders' opinion. The high command, which already started introspection on bypoll defeat, sought reports from chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy . The sources said high command has noticed the public demand. Above all, it is now concentrating on 2014 elections. The sources said that at any cost Congress doesn't want to lose its power in AP. And that could be possible by only declaring chief minister candidate for 2014 candidate right away.
In fact, high command has called Chiranjeevi to come down to Delhi and Chiru is currently in Delhi. He scheduled to meet several crucial leaders in Delhi including Sonia Gandhi. The sources said that after discussion Congress high command is most likely to declare Chiranjeevi as the chief minister candidate for 2014 elections.
Political observers said that in case Chiranjeevi is declared as chief minister candidate, the party can sit back and relax as Congress would come to power in 2014 only with Chiranjeevi. Congress in AP is Chiranjeevi and Chiranjeevi is Congress, said analysts.
(AW Phani)
