PRAJA RAJYAM: THE END

DESARAJU SURYA

Hyderabad: Praja Rajyam Party is no more. The PRP’s end has come today with the Election Commission of India formally approving its merger with the ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh.

The 34-month-old party’s merger with the 125-year-old party was on cards since February this year but technical formalities delayed the process so far.

The 17 PRP MLAs would now add solidity to the Congress government in AP that had been surviving on a wafer-thin majority over the last two years.

Telugu Mega Star Konidela Chiranjeevi launched the Praja Rajyam Party in the temple-town Tirupati on August 26, 2008 with “social justice” as its theme and the promise of ushering in a “change” in the political scene in the state as well as the lives of people.

“I shall usher in the change that people of Andhra Pradesh have been longing for and turn the state into ‘Santoshaandhra Pradesh’ (the state of happiness),” Chiranjeevi vowed while inaugurating Praja Rajyam Party.

The party, however, received a drubbing at the hustings in 2009, having won only 18 out of 294 seats in the AP Assembly, though it polled 70 lakh votes across the regions.

The party has been left in virtual disarray as one senior leader after the other walked out following the electoral debacle.

It was also reduced into a non-entity in the Telangana region after Chiranjeevi changed his stance in favour of unified Andhra Pradesh after supporting “social Telangana” earlier.

This caused a small rebellion in the party with its two MLAs from Telangana falling away with Chiranjeevi. On the other hand, two MLAs from Kurnool district of Rayalaseema started sailing with rebel leader Y S Jaganmohan Reddy much to the discomfiture of Chiranjeevi.

Chiranjeevi’s announcement of a merger of PRP with Congress came as a blessing in disguise with the two Telangana legislators returning to its fold. One of the two rebel MLAs from Rayalaseema too buried the hatchet with Chiranjeevi after the PRP initiated disqualification proceedings.

Now, only Sobha Nagi Reddy is continuing in the Jagan camp even as the disqualification procedure against her is on.

There has been speculation for sometime now that the PRP would be accommodated in the state Cabinet following the merger move. It appears certain but the number of slots the PRP would get is still unclear.

Announcing the PRP’s merger with the Congress in February, Chiranjeevi had said he would strive hard to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots.

“I shall not forget my responsibilities just because I have merged the party with Congress. I am committed to the principle of social justice and my fight against corruption will continue forever. I will always take the lead in supporting the aspirations of the poor and the needy," he had said then.

Chiranjeevi was a self-made star – one who rose to become the Megastar of Telugu films in a career that spanned 30 years. He was a dancing and fighting sensation, a trend-setter in Telugu tinsel town.

He faced many defeats in his three-decade old career in the film industry but he always bounced back to firm up his position on the top.

Politics was a totally different script for him and he was a “reluctant politician” who was allegedly “forced” into the hotbed of politics in politically-conscious Andhra Pradesh.

It was rather a tame and unexpected end for his party, though politically not for him yet.