Chiranjeevi all set to take new role

Aug 25: Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi arrived here Monday night for the much hyped launch of his political party at a public meeting in this temple town on Tuesday. All the ingredients of a celluloid blockbuster are thrown in, including the element of suspense over the name of the party and its flag.
The 53-year-old actor, who announced his plans to take a plunge into politics at a press conference in Hyderabad last week, will announce his party’s name and programmers at the ‘mega show’ where he is also expected to wave his flag.
Accompanied by his family, the star reached Tirumala Monday night to be able to offer worship Lord Venkateswara Tuesday morning before preparing for the big event, his maiden political rally. Giving a cinematic touch to the show, a helicopter will shower flowers and another will film the programme with movie cameras, according to his aides. Elaborating on the huge canvas of preparations, they said 18 special rains, about 1500 buses, thousands of cars, vans, and trucks would be engaged to bring Chiranjeevi’s fans and potential party members from all parts of Andhra Pradesh to the Rajiv Nagar venue. In addition, ten special trains from Hyderabad would take the media persons an participants, who would include several film personalities and some NRIs they arrived from the US last week to campaign for the star’s party.
With the question doing the rounds in political and media circles whether Chiranjeevi would be able to recreate the magic of the late Telugu hero N.T.Rama Rao, who had stormed to power within nine months of floating his Telugu Desam party in 1983, the Tuesday launch is being kennly watched not only in Andhra Pradesh but else where too.
Over 126-acre ground has been cleared of bushes at the venue, where an AICC Plenary was held in 1992 during P V Narasimha Rao’s regime.
All the hotels and marriage halls in the temple town and the surrounding towns of Puttur, Sri Kalahasti and Chittor have already been occupied by politicians and the actor’s fans.
A TTD official has expressed fear that the shrine, already experiencing heavy rush of pilgrims due to marriages happening during this auspicious ‘Sravana Masam’, could choke on the influx of the Chiranjeevi army.
“It would be nice if the people attending the rally avoid visiting the shrine. Other wise, it might take three days for the pilgrims to have darshan, at 60,000-80,000 people a day,” he said