Megastar urges Pithapuram voters to elect his brother

Vijayawada: Megastar Chiranjeevi appealed to the people of the Pithapuram Assembly constituency to elect his younger brother and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan in the elections scheduled to be held on May 13.

He posted a video on social media on Tuesday, urging people to cast their vote for actor-politician.

Chiranjeevi, who has been staying away from politics for the last decade after merging his Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) with Congress, stated that compared to him, Pawan Kalyan thinks more about people. The megastar revealed that Pawan entered films under compulsion but willingly entered into politics. “My younger brother thinks more about people than about himself. Everybody says he will do something for people after coming to power but Pawan Kalyan spent his own money to wipe out the tears of tenant farmers, donated generously to jawans guarding our borders and helped fishermen. When we see all this, we feel that people need a leader like him,” said Chiranjeevi.

The megastar said any mother would be hurt to see her son struggling. “But I told my mother that your son is fighting for many mothers and the future of their children. This is greater than our pain,” he said.

Chiranjeevi said that Pawan Kalyan founded Jana Sena as he believes that those who remain silent without fighting injustice cause more harm to democracy. Stating that Pawan Kalyan dedicated his life to politics for the values he strongly believes in, the megastar said if this power is to be used for the state’s future, people have to make sure that his voice is heard in the legislature.

Chiranjeevi had taken a plunge into politics in 2008 by floating PRP. However, unlike films, his political inning proved disastrous as the party came a cropper in the 2009 elections in united Andhra Pradesh. Two years later, he merged PRP with Congress and became a Rajya Sabha member. He served as Union minister of state for tourism in the UPA II government.

Following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and the Congress party’s humiliating defeat, he returned to films.

Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena is contesting the May 13 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh in alliance with the TDP and BJP.

In 2019, Jana Sena fought the polls in alliance with BSP and the Left parties but could win just one Assembly seat in the 175-member Assembly. Pawan Kalyan himself suffered defeat in both the Assembly seats he contested.