The Hindu : Front Page : People will give verdict in my favour as Chief Minister, says Chiranjeevi

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Sunday, Oct 12, 2008
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People will give verdict in my favour as Chief Minister, says Chiranjeevi

Suresh Krishnamoorthy

Praja Rajyam chief rules out truck with ‘grand alliance’
Massive turnout at all meetings of Chiranjeevi

SRIKAKULAM: Expressing confidence that people would bless him with victory, Praja Rajyam president Chiranjeevi ruled out any truck with the proposed ‘grand alliance’ comprising the Telugu Desam, the Left parties and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti.

He was indeed favourably disposed towards the Left parties, but they were trying to enter into a truck with the TDP, a party with which he did not want to join hands.

Mr. Chiranjeevi made his first-ever observations about alliances in a free-wheeling interview aboard the ‘Praja Ankitha Ratham’ during his tour of Srikakulam district on Saturday even as his brother-in-law Allu Arvind was holding talks in New Delhi with CPI (M) leaders Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury.

Referring to the massive turnout at all his meetings during the past two days, the Praja Rajyam leader said this was a clear indicator that people wanted a change.

Asked whether he expected the overt affection of his fans to translate into votes, he said, “I am hundred per cent confident about it”.

In the same vein, he was asked if all this support would make him the Chief Minister. He replied, “You need to ask the people about that. I am sure people will give their verdict clearly in our favour. I am not among those craving for power but a servant of the people. If you ask them, they will say yes. They desperately want a change.”

Asked for his views on separate Telangana, Chiranjeevi said he had already stated in Tirupati in August that the Praja Rajyam would act as a facilitator if people wanted separation.

“If people strongly desire a separate State, it will happen. It has to come from them,” he asserted.

To another question, the Praja Rajyam leader said he was not a stereotype politician. “What makes me different is my thinking, going to the people to find out their problems and my off-the-beaten-track approach.”

His USP (unique sales proposition), according to him, was that he looked pretty much like a common man. He recalled that he had donned the role of a man fighting corruption in his film ‘Tagore’ but it was now his endeavour to live that role.

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