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The politics behind Nara Lokesh’s ‘best wishes’ to Chiru, Balayya on their Sankranti releases

Behind the News is your round up of musings from the corridors of power. Read what goes on behind the scenes for news & newsmakers.

South First Desk

Published Jan 12, 2023 | 6:10 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 09, 2023 | 6:02 PM

Lokesh, pawan kalyan

Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan and TDP general secretary & ex minister Nara Lokesh (Supplied)

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Politics (and political families), Tollywood, and caste are inseparable in Andhra Pradesh. They are all interlinked and form a heady cocktail.

There are legendary actors like NT Rama Rao, who established a political party (TDP) and came to power, and the likes of Chiranjeevi, who proved unsuccessful in politics (with his Praja Rajyam Party).

But political parties never abandon Tollywood. Look at this Sankranti season, as two top Tollywood heroes clash at the box office with the release of their respective movies and how politics also comes into play.

TDP scion Nara Lokesh put an “all the best” message for both his father-in-law, Nandamuri Balakrishna, and Chiranjeevi, who was once a political opponent of the TDP for their respective releases, Veera Simha Reddy and Waltair Veerayya.

He also advised his party workers not to indulge in caste and fan wars given the rivalry between Balakrishna and Chiranjeevi that goes back many years.

This caution comes at a time when TDP is wooing Chiranjeevi’s brother Pawan Kalyan and his Jana Sena party for an alliance to take on the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP in the 2024 Assembly and parliamentary elections.

Meanwhile, YSRCP’s parliamentary party leader, V Vijaysai Reddy, wished only megastar Chiranjeevi for his movie’s success, completely ignoring TDP MLA Balakrishna.

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