'Gabbar' out of bypoll action?

              

               The BJP-TDP combine is likely to miss, in the run up to the Medak LokSabha bypoll, its star campaigner in Pawan Kalyan who is credited to have helped the NDA alliance bag a large chunk of backward caste votes in the last elections. The actor is understood to have turned down the BJP candidate Jagga Reddy's invitation to campaign for him. 

                  "Pawan Kalyan may not campaign this time around. But his absence will not have bearing on the final outcome of the polls," said a BJP leader. 

                    With Pawan Kalyan opting out of the recent intensive household survey conducted by the Telangana government and Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao dubbing the actor as a `tourist' on a sojourn in the state, it was expected that the actor's campaigning would provide some fireworks.Pawan Kalyan's opposition to Chandrasekhar Rao is wellknown while the BJP candidate is a known baiter of the TRS president. Jagga Reddy's stance against the bifurcation of the state ahead of formation of Tel angana did not help him endear himself with a large section of people. 

                   Adding an element of possible drama to the issue of Pawan Kalyan's campaigning in Medak against TRS candidate Kotha Prabhakar Reddy, the Osmania University Students' JAC ( OUJAC) even warned that people would pelt stones at the actor if he makes his appearance in the poll campaign. 

                     However, putting the speculations to rest, Pawan Kalyan, who created waves by launching Jana Sena Party earlier this year, ruled out himself from the BJP-TDP campaign. 

                     A close aide to Jagga Reddy said the matinee idol had sent an SMS saying he was under medical treatment for his backache. The source said the film star was in Bangalore and unlikely to return to Hyderabad before the polling day on September 13. 

                   But, Alluri Balakrishna Raju, coordinating Jagga Reddy's campaign, said the BJP camp was still hopeful of Pawan Kalyan adding glamour to the poll campaign through his presence. "It is very early to rule out Pawan Kalyan's participation in the campaign. As the canvassing is expected to take off in earnest after the Ganesh Chaturthi, the actor may join us in the final stage," said Raju. 

                    The uncertainty over the star's participation, however, does not appear to have dampened the spirits in the BJP camp as it went about planning comprehensive campaign. 

                   "We will have 10 days from Monday before the campaigning draws to close. We will take our candidate to the seven assembly segments in the constituency on seven days and last three days will witness three massive public rallies," said M Raghunandan Rao, a BJP leader involved in the poll strategy. 

                   The rallies will be held at three revenue mandal headquarters including Medak, Siddipet, and Sangareddy, Rao said. He said the Telangana BJP unit was in touch with party' national leadership and Union ministers including M Venkaiah Naidu, Prakash Javadekar, Niramala Sitharaman, and Smrithi Irani were likely to campaign for Jagga Reddy.Efforts are on to bring in the party national president Amit Shah for one of the three public meetings. 

                  However, the question that has remained unanswered from the TDP is whether Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP president N Chandrababau Naidu would campaign for the BJP candidate given the political developments after the bifurcation. Raghunanda Rao hoped Naidu powers the BJPTDP campaign by leading road shows.




SOURCE :- THE TIMES OF INDIA