Praja Rajyam chief Chiranjeevi will wind up his Praja Ankita Yatra two days ahead of schedule because of a hoarse throat and fatigue. The roadshow has apparently proved to be too much for the megastar and party sources said he would fly back to Hyderabad on Thursday morning.

Chiranjeevi launched his mass contact programme on October 9 at Srikakulam after completing his road shows in that district as well as Vizianagaram, he was to tour Visakhapatnam district from October 14 to October 17. And on the last day he was supposed to heli-hop to Paderu and Araku Valley and talk to the media on October 17 before boarding the last flight to Hyderabad. But the Agency visits were cancelled. However, Chiranjeevi was still supposed to address meetings in four assembly segments in the city on that day.

However, doctors who examined the actor on Tuesday adviced him to call off the yatra as he was showing symptoms of fatigue and sickness. But Chiranjeevi refused to heed their words and continued with his tour on Wednesday. "In the afternoon, doctors found that his vocal chords were overstrained because of continuous speeches," said a party leader. "Then we decided to cancel the remaining programmes." Chiranjeevi was slated to catch the last flight to Hyderabad on Tuesday but because of heavy traffic jam in Makavarapalem, he could not make it to the airport on time and the flight left without him at 8 pm. Party sources said his next trip to Visakhapatnam would be finalised after the dates of East and West Godavari programmes are announced.

The Praja Rajyam chief Chiranjeevi said on Wednesday said that he was a prompt income-tax payer and had even got an award from the IT department. Rebutting Congress leaders allegations that he did not pay income-tax, Chiranjeevi urged them to check their facts before speaking.

On the second day of his Praja Ankita Yatra, the Praja Rajyam chief said he was not desperate to capture power but was committed to bring change and reforms in the lives of common people. "I’m not a seasoned politician to make promises," he told a cheering crowd at Makavarapalem. "I know only to act properly as per the needs of the public." He added that his party’s top priority was to provide better quality of life, health, education and social justice.

"I will be your servant and not leader and so would all Praja Rajyam members be," he said. He adviced youngsters to go to the villages and educate adults about the corruption in irrigation projects and in the implementation of various government schemes. "Everyone, especially youngsters, should be prepared for the ballot battle," he said. The actor said the government had accorded "greater" status to some cities to increase the value of their assets. "We will ensure development from village level if voted to power," the PR chief said.

Noted film actor Jayasudha, who joined the Congress on Wednesday, said she would not indulge in personal criticism of actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi, but would fight him on issues. "We need not indulge in mudslinging," she said. "I don’t like it. I will prefer to speak about issues and serve people. People are more important than Chiranjeevi."

Apart from Jayasudha, Mr Ramamuni Reddy, a close friend of the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, and actor Vijaychander, grandson of Tangaturi Prakasam Pantulu, joined the Congress. The Chief Minister, the APCC president, Mr D. Srinivas, and the AP Mahila Congress Chief, Ms Ganga Bhavani, were present at Gandhi Bhavan when the trio formally joined the party.

Dr Rajasekhar Reddy welcomed them and hoped they would prove to be assets for the party. Jayasudha, who was in the Telugu Desam for some time, said she was impressed by the developmental and welfare schemes launched by the Chief Minister. "I joined the Congress after thinking about it for a long time," she said. "The Congress would provide me a platform to serve people."

Jayasudha has done 200 films including a dozen with N.T. Rama Rao and two films with Chiranjeevi. However, she refused to speculate on the future prospects of Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam. "People are the ultimate judges," she said. "Being an actor alone would not help. You should serve people and earn their goodwill." When asked if she expected Chiranjeevi to have an impact as NTR did, she said: "That is the big question in everyone’s minds." Meanwhile, Mr Ramamuni Reddy said he quit the TD since the president, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, deviated from the party ideology.

The Prajya Rajyam chief, Chiranjeevi, and his brother-in-law and party leader, Mr Allu Aravind, on Monday expressed contradictory opinions over the violence at Bhainsa in Adilabad district. Chiranjeevi, who is touring north Andhra, attributed the violence to failure of the intelligence machinery. Mr Aravind did not see any fault with the government after visiting the riot-hit village on Monday.

This is not the first time that the two top leaders of the party have expressed different views. Even on the matter of the party’s alliance with the CPI(M), Chiranjeevi and Mr Aravind had divergent views. Immediately after meeting the CPI(M) top brass in New Delhi on Saturday, Mr Aravind had said the Prajya Rajyam had "affinity" with the Left. A day after Mr Aravind’s statement, Chiranjeevi indirectly attacked the CPI(M) for setting a deadline for the party to decide on its electoral alliances.

Chiranjeevi took pot-shots at the CPI(M) during a roadshow in Vizianagaram district on Sunday and said: "Some parties are demanding us to disclose our policies to them. Why should we reveal it to them? We are accountable only to the people." The CPI(M) on Monday condemned the remarks made by PR leaders.

When the Marxist party’s state leadership gave an ultimatum to the Prajya Rajyam to decide on electoral alliances, the party spokesperson Mr Parakala Prabhakar took it lightly. It may be recalled that a day after Chiranjeevi favoured a dalit Chief Minister in an interview with this newspaper, the PR spokespersons Mr Parakala Prabhakar and Mr Mitra backtracked on it.

Praja Rajyam chief Chiranjeevi will announce his party’s support to the separate Telangana state movement in a fortnight. Sources close to the actor-turned-politician said he would make the announcement during the second round of his ongoing Praja Ankita Yatra in Telangana districts later this month. Chiranjeevi, after interacting with party leaders from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema areas, dropped sufficient hints about the party’s stand on the contentious issue.

The party leadership had come under pressure after the Telugu Desam came out in support of statehood for Telangana last week. The TD move was meant to win over the Telangana Rashtra Samiti which, it hopes, will be a crucial poll ally. Both the TRS and the Nava Telangana Praja Party of Mr T. Devender Goud, a former Telugu Desam leader, have dropped enough hints that they would prefer to sail with the PR if it comes out in clear support of statehood.

"Chiranjeevi wanted to announce the party stand when tours Khammam and Nalgonda districts from October 25. By that time we are expecting more clarity on the alliance between TRS and TD," said a senior PR leader. The party think-tank has been asked to finalise the vocabulary to express its support to the separate state movement in a way that would not hurt the sentiments of its followers in the Andhra and Rayalaseema areas.

Deliberations are going on in the party on whether it is enough to announce that the PR would not come in the way of the formation of Telangana state or if a more lucid statement has to be made in support of statehood Sources close to Chiranjeevi said that he had himself made it clear to senior party leaders that he would not like to beat around the bush on the sensitive issue. "After talking to him it was clear that our statement on Telangana would more lucid than any other party," said a former minister who joined the PR recently.

Two persons who took part in Chiranjeevi’s Praja Ankita Yatra died on Tuesday. Tirumala Rao, 23, of Simhachalam and a diehard fan of the actor died when a car in Chiranjeevi’s convoy hit his motorcycle. Rao was following the convoy when the accident occurred between Anandapuram and Pendurthy. Rao suffered severe injuries and was declared brought dead in hospital.

Elsewhere, an elderly woman, K. Hemalatha, 60, of Allipuram in the city died due to exhaustion. She was made up as Mother Teresa to take part in a programme organised by locals to welcome Chiranjeevi to Anandapuram. She stayed under the hot sun for hours. She collapsed after the actor left the town. She was also rushed to the King George Hospital where the doctors declared her dead. Party activists visited Rao’s residence in Simha-chalam and handed over an amount of Rs 1 lakh as compensation to his family.

A music audio has been composed by Devi Sri Prasad to be used in the Praja Ankitham tour of Chiranjeevi. One song in this album has been sung by Ram Charan Tej.

These songs written on the agenda of Praja Rajyam Party are being extensively used by all the units of the party while going on with the membership drive. According to reports already more than 10 lakh members have been registered. The drive is still on and the party hopes to get a membership of over 2 crores.

Megastar and Praja Rajyam party president Chiranjeevi seems to have realized that there is no other option but to recall his filmy roles to attract people during his road shows.

That is the reason why Chiranjeevi recalled the role played by him in the film "Tagore," while speaking at a road show in Srikakulam district. He reminded that "Tagore" fought against rampant corruption in the society and tried to weed out the corrupt elements. "Everyone of you should become a Tagore and fight against corruption. Only then can we establish a clean society," he said, addressing the gathering.

It was apparent that Chiranjeevi was looking for cheers and whistles from the crowds, especially the youth. And the only way to attract them was to speak out film dialogues. His friends in the film industry, who are accompanying him during the road shows are preparing the script for him. What Chiru is doing is only action!

Chiru was addressing the gatherings in Narsanapet, Srikakulam district and he made several promises to the public.

If PRP elected to power in the next elections.

1. PRP promises to implement social justice in the state.

2.People can rule themselves.

3.PRP will provide Pesticides and fertilizers to farmers at appropriate time.

3.PRP will supply 24 hrs power to farmers.

4.PRP will control the prices of all domestic needs of people.

5.Farmer's produce (grains and paddy etc) will be given reasonable and support price.

7. Weavers and other handcrafts will be taken care of by PRP Government.

8. Women will be supported with welfare schemes.

9. Middle class section of the society will be taken care by PRP Governement.

Hope if PRP comes into power chiru can keep his promises.

Actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi called upon the people to teach a fitting lesson for corrupt political parties. “This is the right time to teach them a lesson. They have been misleading you for decades,” Chiranjeevi said at a roadshow at Mayuri junction on seeing a large number of youth and women on either side of the road.

Chiranjeevi arrived here two-and-a half hours late on Sunday from Srikakulam district as part of the second leg of his Praja Ankitha Yatra. The Vidyalanagar wore a festive look with all the roads leading to the actor’s roadshows. A large number of people turned up to catch a glimpse of Chiranjeevi atop his Praja Ankitha Ratham.

Chiranjeevi regretted that successive governments completely neglected public welfare. “I entered politics leaving the cinema industry to end corruption at all levels. I am not interested to counter the allegations leveled by other political parties. If you support the Praja Rajyam, I promise that we can resolve problems you have been facing for decades by removing imbalances in the society,” Chiranjeevi said.

The actor called upon youngsters and women to use their vote to defeat selfish and evil rulers of the past and the present at the right time by supporting his endeavour for a “change” in the political arena. His private security had a very tough time to control the swelling crowds as the local leaders, political sympathisers and fans began competing with each other to dominate others in showing their strength. Later, he proceeded to Gajapathinagaram.

Chiru was addressing the gatherings in Narsanapet, Srikakulam district and he made several promises to the public.

If PRP elected to power in the next elections.

1. PRP promises to implement social justice in the state.

2.People can rule themselves.

3.PRP will provide Pesticides and fertilizers to farmers at appropriate time.

3.PRP will supply 24 hrs power to farmers.

4.PRP will control the prices of all domestic needs of people.

5.Farmer's produce (grains and paddy etc) will be given reasonable and support price.

7. Weavers and other handcrafts will be taken care of by PRP Government.

8. Women will be supported with welfare schemes.

9. Middle class section of the society will be taken care by PRP Governement.

Hope if PRP comes into power chiru can keep his promises.