AP: Actor Rajasekhar joins Congress

The ruling Congress party in Andhra Pradesh finally got a dash of glamour with popular Telugu actor Rajasekhar and his wife and film director Jeevitha formally joining the party.

They were among the first to be admitted into the party as the party general secretary Veerappa Moily formally launched a membership drive at Gandhi Bhavan in Hyderabad on Monday morning.  

Proving the widespread speculation about their political plans right, the star couple accepted Congress membership in the presence of Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and the state Congress president D Srinivas.

"This is not a sudden decision. I have been saying for a long time that I will come in to politics at the right time and we feel that this is the right time for us to make the move," Rajasekhar told the media.

Rajasekhar said one of the reasons for making the move now was the recent attack on his family by the fans of film actor Chiranjeevi, who is also planning to launch a political party soon.

"The widespread sympathy and concern for us at the time of the attack convinced us that the time has come for us to enter politics," Rajasekhar said.

When asked whether he will contest against Chiranjeevi in the next elections, Rajasekhar said that he was ready to contest if the party asked him to do it. "I am ready to discharge any duty given to me by the party. If needed I will contest and if party asks me only campaign, I will do it."

"I am coming in to politics because I want to serve and help the needy people," Rajasekhar said. 

Jeevitha who is presently directing a film Satymevajayathe, with her husband in lead role, is largely expected to become the chief of the women's wing of the state Congress party. If that happens she will be pitted against another actress Roja, who heads the women's wing of Telugu Desam party.

In a related development another prominent Telugu actor Krishna also met chief minister Reddy giving credence to the reports that the state Congress was trying to enrol Krishna and his son, actor Mahesh Babu to campaign for the party in the next elections.

Krishna is no newcomer to the Congress party. He was elected to Lok Sabha as a Congress candidate in 1989 and has also campaigned for the party on other occasions.

Krishna described his meeting with the chief minister as a courtesy call saying they were both good friends, but did not rule out his participation in the election campaign.

"If required, I will campaign," Krishna told media-persons.

The Congress is making an all out effort to attract as many film stars as possible because the proposed political party of Chiranjeevi is likely to give Congress a tough fight in coastal Andhra Pradesh .

The TDP on the other hand has its own quota of film glamour, including N Balakrishna and NTR Junior.