Chiranjeevi skips ‘jinxed’ town

Guntur: Chiranjeevi’s followers in the temple town of Amaravathi were jubilant on Thursday for a strange reason. They were celebrating after Chiranjeevi cancelled his scheduled overnight stay at Amaravathi on the last day of his tour on Friday.

Surprised? For, they believe top leaders who visit this small town located on the banks of river Krishnaveni and stay overnight face severe setbacks in their political careers. “We are relieved upon learning that our star hero would not be staying here,” said Sankara Rao, an ardent fan of the actorturned-politician.

According to locals, N Janardhana Reddy visited Amaravathi just before being asked to quit as CM by the Congress high command in 1993. Jail Singh visited the place and stayed overnight when he was the President. But his efforts at second term did not bear fruits as he had fallen out of favour with then PM Rajiv Gandhi.

While many leaders fell from grace, the recent one was that of Maganti Venkateswara Rao (Babu). He was forced to quit the state cabinet just a few days after his visit to Amaravathi.

Curiously, chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy visited this town in 2004 during Krishna Pushkarams but did not go to the temple. “He skipped the temple at the suggestions of local leaders and enjoyed power for a full five-year term,” observed Mallikharjuna Rao, a local school teacher.

However, transport minister Kanna Lakshminarayana has never gone to campaign without offering prayers at the temple. “But, the god has never disappointed me,” he remarked.

The PRP chief would be staying overnight at Gorantla village on the outskirts of Guntur on Friday night before leaving for Hyderabad on Saturday morning.

I-T raids on PRP leaders
The income-tax officials raided the houses of two PRP leaders in Chittoor district on Thursday. The IT officials raided the residences of Chandragiri PRP leader Saikam Jayachandra Reddy and C Rajagopal of Tirupati. They seized incriminating documents.
(Source TOI)