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Chiranjeevi merges his Praja Rajyam Party with Congress

Emerging after a 15-minute meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Chiranjeevi said the decision was taken keeping in mind the "best interests" of the people of Andhra Pradesh as both the Congress and the PRP fight for social justice.

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It’s official. Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) will merge with Congress. The “historic” merger was announced by the actor-turned-politician after an hour-long meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi at her 10 Janpath residence in New Delhi on Sunday evening.

“I have put forward my charter with focus on social justice. Additionally, we want implementation of the Sachar Committee recommendations and Women’s Reservation Bill taken forward. There are several other issues that are important to the state. Gandhi has agreed to look into all these issues favourably,” he said.

PRP was founded months before the 2009 assembly election in Andhra Pradesh with rising sun as its symbol. Chiranjeevi was then equated with US president Barack Obama for bringing about a change in state politics, as he vowed to eliminate corruption and empower the downtrodden.

However, within 30 months, the party with 18 of the 294 MLAs in the state assembly has been absorbed into Congress.

With the merger, the Congress strength in the assembly swells to 173 from 155 members, excluding former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s wife Vijayalakshmi, who recently quit the party and legislature. A party needs 148 MLAs to remain in power in Andhra.

“I have been working on various issues plaguing the people of the state for the past two years. I realised the efforts of our party would be further strengthened if we merge with a strong force,” Chiranjeevi said.

Though the PRP chief claimed he had made no demand to accommodate either him or party men in the cabinet and the merger was “unconditional”, sources said there was a clear promise from Congress that his MLAs would be made ministries soon, in addition to allotting a Rajya Sabha seat to a person of Chiranjeevi’s choice.

The merger is a shot in the arm for the embattled Congress. It is expected to have a significant impact on the party. Chiranjeevi has been roped in to counter the rebellion in state Congress triggered by YSR’s son YS Jaganmohan Reddy. PRP’s 18 MLAs nullify the destabilising threat posed by Jagan, who enjoys the support of at least 20 Congress MLAs and has maintained that the N Kiran Kumar Reddy government is at “his mercy”.

With the merger, the caste equation in Congress will also change significantly in the days to come. The party predominantly led by the Reddy community will now have a strong force in the form of Tirupati MLA Chiranjeevi, who and many PRP leaders belong to the Kapu community.

A source in Congress said the purpose of roping in Chiranjeevi was to have a face acceptable to the people. “After YSR, Congress has no mass leader. Chiranjeevi would also come in handy for the party to campaign in the coming elections in Tamil Nadu,” he said.

“Chiranjeevi will be a great asset for Congress not just in Andhra but in other parts of the country as well. He had made an offer to Congress for merger. We have accepted it,” Veerappa Moily, Union law minister and in-charge of Congress affairs in Andhra, said after the meeting with Sonia.

Meanwhile, sources in PRP said the party was going through difficulties and was not in a position to keep cadres intact. “The separate Telangana movement has definitely affected us. By taking a united-Andhra stand, we lost cadres in all 10 districts of Telangana. Except for fans, who continue to remain with Chiranjeevi, there is no great foundation for the party in Telangana. Similarly, the Jagan factor is affecting the party in other parts of the state. So, the merger is a timely decision,” a senior party leader said.

The merger was on the cards from the time defence minister AK Antony met Chiranjeevi in Hyderabad last week.

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