Will Tirupati give Chiranjeevi a chance?

Tirupati is famous the world over for its Balaji/Venkatachapathi temple. It is the richest temple in the world with a reported income of over Rs 2 billion. It is situated amongst seven mountains giving the Lord another name, Elumalayan.

Tirupati is situated in the valley of these mountains. The temple area is called Tirumala by the locals. The entire economy of this bustling pilgrim town depends on the temple. There are hundreds of hotels for every budget. There are thousands of cabs, autos, vans, buses and eateries to cater to the pilgrims.

The city is well maintained though most roads are narrow and there are frequent traffic jams. The water supply is good, but the water tastes horrible. The power situation was good till two months ago. Now they have a 90-minute power cut every morning, from 6.30 to 8 am.

Telugu superstar N T Rama Rao launched his political career in Tirupati. The people at that time voted him to an absolute majority in the Andhra Pradesh assembly. It took NTR just nine months from launching his Telugu Desam Party to becoming chief minister. Andhra Pradesh, by the way, has never been ruled by a coalition. Parties have always managed their own majority.

Another Telugu superstar has also launched his political career in Tirupati. Chiranjeevi is contesting the election to the state assembly from this town. And it is Chiranjeevi, people say, who will be the cause for the first coalition government in this state.

Chiranjeevi's newly launched Praja Rajyam Party is contesting its first election. He draws huge crowds wherever he goes. But local Congress party leaders dismiss it, saying, "Actors always draw huge crowds in the south. It won't translate into votes."

Chiranjeevi has a former IAS officer contesting the Tirupati Lok Sabha seat for his party. Varaprasad Rao was the principal secretary/special officer for small industries in Tamil Nadu when he quit government service at the age of 55. He still had four years of service when he decided to join Chiranjeevi's PRP.

The actor has other former IAS and IPS officers as his party's candidates. He has also given seats to defectors from the Congress and the TDP. Reports say he has given seats to 59 defectors from the two major parties in Andhra Pradesh.

B Karunakar Reddy of the Congress is Chiranjeevi's main opponent. He is said to be state Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy's right hand man. He is a former chairman of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Board.

A TTDB employee said he would vote for the PRP because he wants to give Chiranjeevi a chance. "Change is always good, we will vote for him just as we voted for NTR long ago."

The TDP candidate is K Sankar Reddy. He is a former municipal chairman of the town. He is said to have done a lot of good work. He was also first off the blocks in campaigning. He has been campaigning for two-and-a-half months, much before the election was announced.

P Prabhakaran is a driver by profession who spent four years in Kuwait. He drives a taxi here. "Chiranjeevi is not NTR and will not have the same effect on the people," he says. "But he can rely on the Balija caste vote to which he belongs. That is a factor here. It's a neck to neck battle between the TDP and Congress. Chiranjeevi will be an also ran."

J Sekar, a driver from Hyderabad, came here to work with Vijaykumar, the PRP's district convener. "Chiranjeevi will win because everyone likes him," he declares. "When NTR was there he made banks give Rs 1 lakh loans against SSC certificates. This government has stopped that. I would have been eligible for that loan. I would have started a small shop or bought an auto. Chiranjeevi will bring back that scheme. This Congress government promised cement roads in my village. They did not do it. They give students bus passes but the buses are never on time. Students have to travel by auto which is expensive."

Sai Kumar is a businessman friend of the Congress candidate. "Every inch of Andhra Pradesh enjoys irrigation facilities. We are an agrarian economy and that's why YSR concentrated on agriculture. That is why our economy is not affected by the global recession. The Congress welfare schemes have benefited the people and they will vote for us. Chiranjeevi has never done any social service in his home town. What will he do for the people?"

Businessman Sudhakar Reddy said he would vote for Chiranjeevi just for a change. "Let us give him a chance. He can't be worse than the other two." That sums up elections in India. The lesser of evils is what the voter chooses.