Film-star-turned-politician Chiranjeevi on Saturday admitted that his Praja Rajyam Party suffered electoral defeat due to several weaknesses and the failure of the party to convey the message of social justice to the lower strata of society.
Speaking to the media after the two-day long meeting of the party's Political Affairs Committee to analyse the election results, Chiranjeevi announced the scrapping of all the organisational committees of the PRP and revamping the party.
"We will have to make a new beginning and enthuse our workers," he said, urging the party men not to lose heart because of the defeat.
"We have secured more than 15 per cent of the votes, which is not an ordinary thing. We should take that as an inspiration for the future and continue our hard work," he said.
Chiranjeevi, who had initially been shocked by the poor performance of his party, put up a brave front and spoke about the possible reasons for the debacle.
He said that there was a complete lack of coordination within the intra-party organisations and there were major differences among the senior party leaders. The PRP also failed to understand the game-plan of major parties like the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party.
Admitting that the organisation was weak, the megastar said that if the party had been able to convert even 40 per cent of the turnout at his meetings and road shows to actual votes, the results would have been very different.
"I used my charisma and attraction to help party candidates but it was not enough," he admitted.
But Chiranjeevi made it clear that he was going to continue in politics. "We will have to strengthen the party and continue our fight for social justice," he said.
Chiranjeevi also promised that the 18 members of the PRP, who had been elected to the state assembly, will act as the voice of the people. "We will raise the problems of the people and get them solved by actively participating in the debate," he assured.
At the same time, he defended his brother-in-law and PRP general secretary Allu Arvind, who had been accused of selling party tickets and held responsible for the defeat of the party.
"He was targeted because he was the central figure in the party," said Chiranjeevi.
The PRP founder also disagreed on the view that only sure shot winning contenders should have been given party tickets. "Then how will we ensure social justice and increase the representation of the weaker sections," he said.
