Hyderabad: "Congress hatao, desh bachao (Remove Congress, save the country)" - No, this isn't Narendra Modi at one of his ubiquitous political rallies. This is Tollywood cine actor Pawan Kalyan threatening to wipe out Congress party from Andhra Pradesh.
Popularly known as the "power star", he also bears the tag of being actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi's younger brother. Kalyan repeated the Modi slogan as a punch dialogue in his party launch speech earlier this month to a hall packed with fans, media and bouncers.
A few days later, he held his first public meeting in Vishakapatnam where he also released a book of his Janasena party's ideology, titled, "ISM" (Read: Pawanism) and made it clear that his party will not contest the 2014 elections.
Still it is giving older brother and Congress's campaign chairman sleepless nights. Reason: Pawan's on-record support to BJP and off-record support to the TDP could mean a substantial slice of vote pie from Chiranjeevi's loyalists in 13 districts of Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema.
Congress kickstarted its poll campaign with its star leader Chiranjeevi and newly-appointed Seemandhra PCC chief Raghuveera Reddy on an optimistic note of making people "aware" of how Congress alone cannot be blamed for bifurcation.
Party insiders though say the optimism has more to do with the fact that the party has hit rock bottom and there isn't really much left to lose anyway. Turnouts at the rallies from Srikakulam to Kurnool have been a cause of concern. Infighting have only added to the Congress's woes. Former APCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana from the coastal district of Vizianagaram finds himself isolated.
Memories of a curfew clamped district in October 2013, during anti-bifurcation protests, are still etched in the minds of the constituents and the anti-incumbency wave has only swelled from then on. With Botsa and his wife, Congress MP Jhansi, not bringing along the surety of their voters anymore, the party has relegated him to the sidelines since the bifurcation, making the political heavyweight see red.
In addition, one of the biggest losses for the party has been former MP Purandeswari who politely shook off the Congress's hand and donned the saffron party's Jai Modi cap! If that's the story in Andhra, down the coastline, in Rayalaseema, things are no better. Political bigwigs are deserting the Congress like a sinking ship.
JC Diwakar Reddy and his family have latched on to Chandrababu Naidu's cycle (TDP party symbol) along with former ministers TG Venkatesh, Erasu Pratap reddy and Ganta Srinivas Rao. In fact, with almost 50 MLAs moving in and out of the TDP as part of the defections, political observers wonder if TDP will soon resemble the Ship of Theseus.
"It's now a mind game. This is beyond the caste wars that AP has seen over the years. It is about political survival and desperation has no room for foes and friends," says a YSR Congress party insider. Jagan Reddy's sustained efforts of rallies and yatras are what make the YSRC Camp hopeful.
The camp, like the TDP also boasts of several Congress bigwigs now in its fold. Be it former ministers Dharmana Prasad Rao, Mopidevi Venkatramana, (both of them were also charge sheeted in Jagan's illegal assets case) or Rayalaseema MPs SPY Reddy and Ananta Venkatram Reddy. But the sharpest arrow in Jagan's quiver may just turn out to be sister YS Sharmila. She emerged as a crowd puller while Jagan was behind bars and sources say is now keen to contest for a LS seat.
With his mother already an MLA, and sister and uncle YV Subba Reddy as potential LS candidates, opposition parties have been quick to train the guns of dynastic politics at the Kadapa prince. Also while defections have largely been one sided for the Congress, but for Jagan Reddy's YSR Congress and Naidu's TDP, the growing challenge has been to maintain tempers as a deluge of Congress leaders, lured with promises of a ticket, may drown hopes of many a party loyalists.
Former Chief Minister Kiran Reddy's Jai Samaikhyandhra Party, launched on the plank of Telugu dignity, has not yet managed to go beyond a beep on the political radar. In this battle of 25 Loksabha seats and 175 Assembly segments, the BJP is also hoping to make inroads through a hard bargain with Telugu Desam. Long drawn negotiations over seat sharing are now in the last lap.
Sources say the deal will be clinched in a few days. The TDP is likely to cede 4-6 LS seats and 15-18 assembly seats to the BJP in return for its support in the Telangana region. A pre-poll alliance between the TDP and BJP will also throw up interesting situations like family foes D Purandeswari (NTR's daughter) and Chandrababu Naidu (NTR's son-in-law) coming together to fight elections from the same side. Remember, the BJP's highest ever LS victory of 7 seats in AP, was also in alliance with TDP in 1999.
Creation of Telangana has this time, forced the TDP to seek support from the saffron party and in a battle of do or die, every seat counts. A TDP-BJP tie-up supported by the likes of Pawan Kalyan's Janasena may well become more than just a hurdle in Jagan Reddy's Chief Ministerial ambitions.
For the voters, the real king-makers, it could be a problem of aplenty for the first time. In this race for the first Chief Minister of residuary state of AP, everyone is in the fray. On ground, a few concerned citizens ask, "andharu rajule aiythe, palimpa bade vaaru evaru??" (If all are kings, are there any subjects left?")
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