Hyderabad: Is there a secret mission behind former minister and film actor K. Chiranjeevi meeting top political leaders under the guise of his new film? Mr Chiranjeevi has met Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and AP Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to invite them to watch Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy.
He has sought the appointment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah. On Wednesday last week, Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu watched Sye Raa at his residence along with his family members and Mr Chiranjeevi.
It is significant to note that all the leaders that Mr Chiranjeevi met or has sought an appointment with are top BJP leaders and those who have good relations with Mr Modi and Mr Shah. Mr Chiranjeevi did not meet Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao who is more knowledgeable in matters of literature and history than Mr Reddy. Compared to Mr Rao, Mr Reddy is seen as being closer to Mr Modi and Mr Shah.
At the same time, Mr Chiranjeevi did not seek the appointment of AICC president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and her son, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. Mr Chiranjeevi was Union minister in the UPA government headed by Dr Manmohan Singh.
There are speculations that Mr Chiranjeevi wants to become a Rajya Sabha member in the nominated quota, like the film personalities Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar and Lata Mangeshkar.
After watching Sye Raa, Mr Venkaiah Naidu reportedly commented that both he and Mr Chiranjeevi were keeping themselves away from politics.
After the BJP-led NDA came to power Mr Chiranjeevi distanced himself from the Congress and did not renew his party membership. He is concentrating more on films than politics.
Sources close to Mr Chiranjeevi denied that he has any ambition to become Rajya Sabha member. They said if the President nominates him, Mr Chiranjeevi may not refuse it.
