State tour will be litmus test for Chiru

About a fortnight after launching his party Praja Rajyam, Chiranjeevi would be embarking on his maiden mass contact programme towards the month-end, amid criticism that he lacks clarity about his political agenda. A plan for the actor's tour of the 23 districts in Andhra Pradesh has almost been finalised, party spokesperson P Mithra said in Hyderabad.

The main political parties in the state -- TDP and Congress - sharpened their attack on the actor after the Praja Rajyam's spokesman expressed confidence that the new party would emerge as a viable alternative to them. While TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu described the Praja Rajyam's assertions of emerging as a major political force as 'day-dreaming', the ruling Congress dubbed it as a 'laughable remark'.

The Praja Rajyam party, however, refused to be drawn into a war of words with other parties. Praja Rajyam activists, though, held a protest in Tirupati in 'Gandhigiri' style against Roja's charges. In the face of the criticism, Mithra said the party would soon come out with policy documents on various issues. The party would also put in place an organisational structure soon, the spokesman said.

Seeking to dispel the criticism that he remained a non-starter, Chiranjeevi said he is learning to walk as a politician and expressed confidence that with people's support he would soon gallop and go beyond the reach of other parties. He is expected to spell out his stand on various issues and the agenda of his party during the state-wide tour. As he gears up for his mass contact programme, the Telugu superstar faces the stupendous challenge of proving his critics wrong and taking on the confident Congress and a determined TDP.