Hyderabad/Vijayawada: Tollywood actor Akkineni Nagarjuna on Tuesday met YSR Congress president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy at his Lotus Pond residence in Hyderabad on Tuesday. The meeting, coming in the run-up to the elections, led to speculation that the actor may enter politics.
Mr Nagarjuna has for long been good friends with the family of late Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, and regularly meets Mr Reddy.
A party source even said that Mr Nagarjuna wanted to contest from the Guntur Lok Sabha seat, represented by the TD’s Galla Jayadev. Another source claimed that the actor was lobbying for a ticket for a rich businessman to contest from Guntur district. Sources close to Mr Nagarjuna denied such speculations and said it was a courtesy visit.
Dr Rajasekhar Reddy as Chief Minister had helped Mr Nagarjuna regularise Annapurna Studios and N Convention. He had plann-ed an entertainment park in place of Annapurna Seven Acres Studio and the file was almost approved but the sudden demise of Rajasekhar Reddy led to the actor dropping the plans. Since then, he has been meeting Mr Jagan Mohan regularly.
“Mr Nagarjuna and Mr Jagan are friends since long. The actor wanted to meet Mr Jagan Mohan immediately after he survived a knife attack in Vizag airport. But that didn’t happen as Jagan, soon after the attack, resumed padayatra and was busy. Since Mr Jagan Mohan is now in Hyderabad, Mr Nagarjuna visited him. There is nothing political in it,” said a source close to Jagan.
It may be worth mentioning here that Mr Nagarjuna’s close friend and business partner Mr Nimmgadda Prasad was accused in an illegal investments case of Mr Jagan Mohan and was in jail along with the YSRC chief for a few months.
