Is Chiranjeevi eyeing CM chair?
Press Trust of India
Thursday, October 30, 2008, (Hyderabad)
A recent video footage in which actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi interacts with youngsters has hinted that the neo-politician hopes for the Chief Minister's post.
"People say I joined politics with some vested interest. I may say no, but everybody has some hope inside. However, I am unable to gauge what that hope is," Chiranjeevi seen saying in the latest 9-minute-20-second video footage of suspected "sting operation".
At that point, the video showed his audience pitching in with the suggestion that becoming the Chief Minister was his "hope."
However, in the public domain, Chiranjeevi had so far been beating around the bush over his political ambitions.
"I am into politics not for the sake of securing power or position but only to serve the people. I am their servant," Chiranjeevi had been proclaiming ever since he declared his intention to quit the tinsel town and jump onto the political bandwagon.
Within the four walls and amidst his close associates, Chiranjeevi, however, appeared to be clearly stating that he has indeed marked the Chief Minister's position as his target.
"Don't simply brush this thing aside, when people say Chiranjeevi wants to become the CM. Just cut the topic," the megastar said.
Of course, but he went on to say that the well-being of the society at large could be his "hope".
Sitting in the conference room at his Praja Rajyam Party office in Hyderabad with bureaucrat-turned-politician T Chandrasekhar, Chiranjeevi was in a jolly mood all through as he apparently spoke his heart out to a group of people.
Who his audience were, however, was not clear. One version was that they could be Information
Technology professionals (going by what one of them spoke about the forum called Do IT), while another was that they were a group of coordinators appointed by the Praja Rajyam to ensure co-ordination between Chiranjeevi fans and the party workers in each district.
All through the meeting, Chiranjeevi referred to them just as "youngsters" and dropped no hint about their antecedents.
"I have no belief in the senior politicians who joined my party." He was categorical in asking the "youngsters" to keep a tab on the senior politicians in every district and report back to the party headquarters if anything went wrong in any district.
"In a way you have to be the spies or rather agents," the Praja Rajyam Chief told them.
He, however, cautioned the youngsters to ensure that nobody smelt anything suspicious about their (spying) acts. Chiranjeevi assured the youth joining the Praja Rajyam party that he was not the kind to "use, exploit and dump" them and their "sacrifices" would not go waste.