The Commission will hear on October 16, the application filed by Chiranjeevi seeking to register his political party, EC sources said.
Pawan Kalyan has proved that he is a bigger star in politics compared to his brother, megastar Chiranjeevi. However, despite being rivals on the political battlefield, the two brothers never entered into a slander match. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Telugu superstar and Union minister Chiranjeveei, who merged his Praja Rajyam Party with the Congress, is surely having problems with his brother Pawan Kalyan, another popular film star. The latter, who never agreed with his elder brother's decision to join Congress, has now decided to float a new party to make certain electoral gains in the politically sensitive Seema-Andhra region. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Telugu superstar and Union minister Chiranjeveei, who merged his Praja Rajyam Party with the Congress, is surely having problems with his brother Pawan Kalyan, another popular film star. The latter, who never agreed with his elder brother's decision to join Congress, has now decided to float a new party to make certain electoral gains in the politically sensitive Seema-Andhra region. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Film-star-turned-politician Chiranjeevi used the occasion of Ramadan to woo the sizeable Muslim votebank in the state. He took this opportunity to stress on his commitment to secularism and respect for all religions. Welcoming former Telugu Desam Party legislator from Kadapa Khaleel Basha, along with hundreds of his supporters, to his party Praja Rajyam, Chiranjeevi recalled his close association with the minority community.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram was criticised by two opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh -- Telugu Desam and Praja Rajyam -- which said he was "adding fuel to fire" over the contentious Telangana issue.
Chief Minister K Rosaiah, Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu and Praja Rajyam chief Chiranjeevi were among the top leaders who paid homage to late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy on Friday night. Speaking on the occasion, Rosaiah said, "Reddy had a unique personality. He always kept his word and his leadership qualities made people admire him. No surprise that he never lost an election in his long political career since 1978."
The MLAs -- 10 from the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, 2 from Congress, one each from Bharatiya Janata Party, Telugu Desam Party and Praja Rajyam -- met Speaker N Kiran Kumar Reddy in Hyderabad and submitted their resignation. The legislators said they resigned in order to mount pressure on the Centre to take immediate steps for formation of a separate state.
Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president D Srinivas has welcomed Praja Rajyam chief K Chiranjeevi's assurance on extending his party's support to the Congress government in the state if the situation demanded.
Actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi on Monday virtually ruled out having any alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state elections, asserting that his newly floated Praja Rajyam is a secular party."We will not align with them because ours is a secular party," he told reporters. Observing that options are open for talking to all secular parties, he said that a decision would be taken only after the elections are announced.
About a fortnight after launching his party Praja Rajyam, Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi would be embarking on his maiden mass contact programme towards the month-end, amid criticism that he lacks clarity about his political agenda.A plan for the actor's tour of the 23 districts in Andhra Pradesh has almost been finalised, party spokesperson P Mithra said in Hyderabad.
Andhra Chief Minister K Rosaiah on Friday arrived in Delhi to meet Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to discuss various issues including the controversial padayatra undertaken by party leader Jaganmohan Reddy, expansion of the state cabinet and the selection of candidates for the by-elections in the Telangana region. He is also expected to raise the issue of Praja Rajyam leader Chiranjeevi's increasing proximity to the Congress.
Actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi met Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswamy in New Delhi on Monday to seek a common symbol for his party Praja Rajyam. Chiranjeevi, who was accompanied by former union minister P Shivshankar, submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission, requesting that the rules for issuing a common symbol be amended. As per the EC's rules, a regional political party needs to secure six per cent of the votes and two elected representatives.
The Kadappa-based lawyer, who was in the news for approaching the Election Commission for registration of a political party bearing the same name as Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam, announced his support to the actor.
Praja Rajyam chief K Chiranjeevi on Wednesday bought 15 days time from his MLAs to come out with a clear stand on the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh even as the party found itself in a muddle following speculation that he is now pitching for a unified state.
As the assembly elections loom large over Andhra Pradesh, a race of sorts has already begun among the political parties to offer sops and make populist promises.
Posters heralding the entry of Tamil film star Rajnikant into politics by his fans sparked speculation that the superstar planned to make debut in politics much on the lines of Telugu filmstar Chiranjeevi. "Praja Rajyam (the party floated by Chiranjeevi) in Andhra Pradesh, Rajnirajyam in Tamil Nadu' read a poster that appeared in many parts of Coimbatore on Wednesday.
Stepping up its attack on actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi, the ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh today said the Praja Rajyam president is asking for a chance for his party out of lust for power.
The number of Congress MPs to resign to protest against the Centre's decision to carve out a separate Telangana state from Andhra Pradesh has gone up to three, while 90 MLAs from Congress, Telugu Desam Party and Praja Rajyam have also resigned. Two TDP MPs have also submitted their resignation.
Senior YSR Congress party leader Shobha Nagi Reddy succumbed to multiple injuries after she met with an accident in the wee hours in Kurnool district.
Union Minister and Congress leader K Chiranjeevi on Saturday disapproved of his actor-brother Pawan Kalyan, who has launched a new political party, meeting Bharatiya Janata Partu's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
The launch of Jana Sena party by Union minister Chiranjeevi's brother and Telugu movie star Pawan Kalyan may alter political equations in Andhra Pradesh, more particularly in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, days ahead of elections to Lok Sabha and the state assembly.
In the next two years, reveals says R Rajagopalan, Modi-Shah will make a strong effort to woo the south.
If the BJP gets only 200 seats and wants to remain in power, Modi will have to make way -- either for a proxy of his choice, or for an internal rival, predicts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Many often stereotype Andhra Pradesh politics as being star-struck, but as Pawan Kalyan's political journey shows, stars are turning out to be a passing cloud.
Every general election since 2004 has been seeing the foray of one or two new parties into the political battlefield in Andhra Pradesh.
Pawan should draw a cautionary lesson or two from his brother Chiranjeevi who, despite a fan base which was three times bigger, failed to make it in politics on his own, says Vicky Nanjappa
As TDP maintains a distance from the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the saffron party may get a new alliance partner in the form of Telangana Rashtra Samiti. Vicky Nanjappa reports on the changing political scenarios in the newly-formed regions of Telangana and Seema-Andhra in this election season.
As he took oath of office on Sunday night, Nara Chandrababu Naidu has earned a unique distinction of becoming the first chief minister of a new state in addition to being the longest-serving CM of Andhra Pradesh.
There's a lot riding on the film stars campaigning in Andhra Pradesh for the Lok Sabha elections, as the state bifurcation issue will play a dominant factor in the regions of Seema-Andhra and Telangana. Vicky Nanjappa reports
What Saisuresh Sivaswamy learnt about the election from television and the newspapers. A must read column, folks!
Sitting Congress MP Madhu Yaskhi Goud, who played a crucial role in passing the Telangana bill in Parliament, is up against TRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao's daughter. However, one cannot simply rule out the chances of E Lakshminarayana, the popular BJP leader who is also in the fray. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
From being the hand-picked choice of Sonia Gandhi as Andhra Pradesh chief minister to sitting on a dharna in Delhi against division of the state, Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy has turned from a Congress regional leader to a disgruntled rebel in his nearly 39-month tumultuous tenure.