The star campaigners in the Telugu Desam and the Praja Rajyam have proved to be ineffective as the parties lost the elections in areas toured by the actors. The TD banked heavily on Junior NTR and Balakrishna.
However, the two failed at the political box office. Similarly, the PR’s star trio of Chiranjeevi, Pavan Kalyan and Nagababu also failed to woo the voters.
The TD’s worst performance was in districts toured by the actors. For example, in Srikakulam district where Junior NTR launched his election campaign, out of the 10 Assembly seats, the TD won only in Itchapuram. The nine other constituencies of Palasa, Tekkali, Patapatnam, Srikakulam, Amadalavalasa, Etcherla, Narasannapeta, Rajam (SC) and Palakonda (ST) were won by the Congress.
Junior NTR is yet to react over the party’s debacle till date. Even though his road shows and filmy dialogues in coastal Andhra were successful, it failed to convert into votes. Even his dramatic appeal from home after the accident did not evoke favourable response. This clearly indicates that while Junior NTR may be a crowd puller, he is certainly not a vote catcher.
It may also be noted that neither Junior NTR nor Balakrishna have taken the TD membership till date. While the TD chief, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, has started a district-wise review of the party’s debacle, the PR chief is also trying to find out what went wrong with the party.
Mr Naidu’s move to campaign with Harikrishna, Taraka Ratna and other stars also failed to move the voters. The TD chief has not cited any reasons for the party’s debacle till date except saying that he would review and get back to the media. A senior party leader said the party has to give a fresh look to the party for the next elections.
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