Chiranjeevi's prestige at stake in Tirupati

Desaraju Surya

Hyderabad: When Chiranjeevi's name was being considered for a Rajya Sabha seat from Andhra Pradesh in March this year, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy was said to have objected to it telling the party high command that winning the eventual by-election in Tirupati could be a difficult task for the Congress.

Kiran's objection was overruled, Chiranjeevi became an MP and vacated the Tirupati Assembly seat.

Now, Kiran's fears are coming true as the ruling party is facing rough weather in the temple-town.

It will be humiliating for the Chief Minister if the Congress loses the Tirupati seat in the June 12 by-election as it falls in his native Chittoor district.

But, it will be a total loss of face for Chiranjeevi himself as he won the seat in the 2009 as the Praja Rajyam Party chief. He was elevated to the Rajya Sabha as part of his PRP's merger deal with the Congress and the onus would be on him to ensure the party's victory in the seat he held till recently.

Former chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams B Karunakar Reddy, who lost to Chiranjeevi by a margin of 10,800 votes in 2009 as Congress nominee, is now in fray as the YSR Congress candidate. Going by the current trend that is apparently favouring the YSR Congress in the state, Karunakar Reddy is the front-runner in the by-election race, leaving the Congress camp worried.

Pitifully, the ruling party is banking almost solely on the caste factor to win the Tirupati seat but the Telugu Desam Party will surely dent its chances, if any. 

For, TDP candidate Ch Krishna Murthy belongs to the same community as Congress' Venkata Ramana. Both are former legislators from Tirupati and have sizeable support within their caste. Chiranjeevi is playing the caste card to see that votes of the community -- to which he too belongs -- fall into the Congress' kitty.

He has also promised not to abandon Tirupati and spend his MPLAD funds on the constituency development.

The split in the caste votes between TDP and Congress will be an added benefit for YSRC while it has the advantage of its own caste vote bank. 

Given his previous stint as TTD chairman, YSRC's Karunakar can also count on the support of the temple employees and their families who form a major chunk of the electorate in Tirupati.

Karunakar is hoping to take sweet revenge on Chiranjeevi and have the last laugh this time.