Comedian Babu Mohan, actress Reshma Rathode, Jr NTR’s sister Nandamuri Suhasini and producer V. Anand Prasad have all lost the elections with significant margins.
The Congress party’s star campaigners were yesteryear’s famous actors like Vijayshanti, Khushboo and Nagma. They drew crowds but not the votes! N. Balakrishna’s campaign made no difference to his party’s candidate.
A clear message from the Telangana people — they are not enamored by the glitz and glamour of the film industry. Says actor Jayasudha, who was an MLA in the Congress Party earlier, “The common man is very intelligent. When actors campaign for political parties, people come to see them but they are not voting for them! People can see through false claims. KCR lead a great movement for the separate Telangana State and he’s now an icon in Telangana. People of this state will support him.
Khushboo campaigning for various political parties
“Actors like Khsubhoo or Nagma don’t know much about Telangana sentiment so them campaigning here will not have any effect. Sheer film glamour wont work. Vijayashanti worked with KCR earlier, she’s aware of the state’s politics, but her campaign against him was more on personal grounds. That too doesn’t work,” said Jayasudha.
Nagma campaigning for various political parties
While first time entrant to politics producer Anand aka Bhavya Prasad, who contested on a TDP ticket lost from Serilingampally, lead actress Reshma of Eerojullo fame who contested on a BJP ticket lost with a huge margin from Wyra constituency. Babu Mohan who was denied a TRS ticket, soon joined the BJP but he lost from the Andole constituency.
Suhasini, who has deep rooted connections to the film industry being the daughter of Nandamuri Hari Krishna and sister of Jr NTR and Kalyanram, lost from Kukatpally on a TDP ticket, in spite of Balakrishna’s sustained campaigning for her.
Not easy to defeat KCR
The common man is very intelligent. When actors campaign for political parties, people come to see them but they are not voting for them! People can see through false claims. KCR lead a great movement for the separate Telangana State and he’s now an icon in Telangana. People of this state will support him.
I have seen KCR from close quarters when I was an MLA, it’s not easy to defeat a leader born from a great movement. Actors like Khsubhoo or Nagma don’t know much about Telangana sentiment so them campaiging here will not have any effect. Sheer film glamour wont work. Vijayashanti worked with KCR earlier, she’s aware of the state’s politics, but her campaign against him was more on personal grounds. That too doesn’t work.
—Jayasudha, actor
Interestingly, her brothers did not campaign for her. Sources close to the actors said both Jr NTR and Kalyanram were hesitant to stick their necks out — because if she lost, despite them campaigning, it would reflect on their lack of clout to woo the voter. It damages their star power!
Another reason given for Suhasini’s defeat, according to a tollywood actor is that when her father died, the CM K. Chandrashekar Rao, K.T. Rama Rao and many other TRS cabinet ministers rushed to condole his death, gave him a state funeral, so least expected is for the daughter to contest against them! The people of Kukatpally felt so and so didn’t vote for her.
Filmstars are used as crowd pullers
“Political parties use filmstars only during elections to campaign and attract large crowds. Afterwards they are not involved with the party. The voter is very smart, he knows who he wants. Here, the Telanagana sentiment works. And actors from other states who come here to campaign, are unaware of the local issues so what will they address. People requested me to campaign in Karnataka in the recent elections there, but I didn’t go, because I don’t know much about their local issues.”
— Jeevitha Rajasekhar
