Screen this

Having been a game changer in recent elections,how is Chiranjeevis Praja Rajyam Party adapting itself to its new role and circumstances? From a spectacle to a spectator,its been quite a journey for the superstar who now watches Y.S.R. Reddy and Chandrababu Naidu engage in routine verbal duels in the assembly. That screen stardom doesnt automatically translate into votes was Chiranjeevis hard lesson from the elections,as the PRP,despite scaring both the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party,drew a blank in Lok Sabha and managed only 18 assembly seats. It was not Chiranjeevis fate to do an NTR 2009. Nevertheless,it was a beginning.

Now,the PRP could be falling apart. Along with heavyweights like T. Devender Goud and P. Mithra Reddy,many others have deserted ship. The party which paraded its non-political credentials of professionals,bureaucrats,etc finds its ranks depleted of the IAS-IPS brand. While their so-called

disavowal of politics may have sounded self-defeating in the political arena,Chiranjeevis harping on social justice from the dais and the lack of much delivery thereof on the ground may be a more concrete factor to pin down. He never quite managed to tangibly define the message of change.

Moreover,his Kapu votebank seems to have trapped him in a caste identity he cant break out of. And yet,with the TDP near-decimated,a political space has opened up for the PRP. As he desperately holds on to his MLAs,Chiranjeevi perhaps hopes to move into that space. But a game changer now managing its own game,the PRP has to learn to stay afloat first. With Brand Chiranjeevi gone,the star needs to now become a politician. His first test is the survival of his party. If he can secure that,theres no end to possibilities.