A meeting between Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party president N Ramchander Rao and Tollywood megastar Chiranjeevi at the actor's Hyderabad residence has raised many eyebrows in the political circles in the state.
Photographs of the meeting surfaced on social media shortly after it concluded, leading to speculations as to what the BJP chief might have discussed with Chiranjeevi.
BJP leaders later clarified that the meeting was part of the party's nationwide "Mahajan Sampark Abhiyan" campaign marking 12 years of the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre.
During the interaction, Ramchander Rao reportedly presented Chiranjeevi with a special publication and informational material highlighting the achievements of the Modi government over the past 12 years.
The campaign aims to reach out to distinguished personalities from various fields and brief them on the government's initiatives in areas such as economic growth, national security, infrastructure development and welfare programmes.
Sources said the two discussed India's economic progress and developmental initiatives during the meeting.
Despite the BJP's insistence that the interaction was purely a courtesy call linked to the outreach programme, political circles have attached broader significance to the development.
Chiranjeevi, who founded the Praja Rajyam Party in undivided Andhra Pradesh before merging it with the Congress and later serving as a Union minister, remains one of the most influential public figures in Telugu states.
Though he subsequently distanced himself from active politics and returned full-time to cinema, speculation about his political influence, albeit indirectly, has been going on the social media.
Political analysts point to the fact that his younger brother, Jana Sena Party chief and Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan, is a key constituent of the BJP-led NDA alliance and maintains close ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP leadership.
Maybe, the BJP, which is an alliance partner of Jana Sena Party, is trying to take advantage of Chiranjeevi’s influence on his brother and get some political mileage in Telangana.
