The Telangana BJP, buoyed by the large crowd at its Munugodu rally on Sunday evening, became more jubilant later over the buzz created in the twin Telugu states by its leader Amit Shah’s meeting with Telugu film industry superstar Jr N T Rama Rao.
Jr NTR, the grandson of Telugu matinee idol, TDP founder, and former chief minister N T Rama Rao commands a mass craze in the two Telugu states.
His following recently went national with the blockbuster hit RRR, while his acting in the movie also attracted international admiration.
Shah is said to have become one such admirer of NTR after watching the Baahubali franchise fame S S Rajamouli-directed film. RRR is reportedly being favoured as India’s entry for the Oscars.
According to a senior BJP leader, Shah wanted to meet NTR as he was coming to Telangana to address the Munugodu rally and use the occasion to convey his appreciation personally.
The late night dinner meeting of Shah and NTR went on for over an hour at a hotel near the Hyderabad airport, about half an hour of which was a closed-door-meet between the two.
“The rendezvous can be said is part of our leadership’s agenda of meeting influential persons in various spheres like sports and arts whenever they are touring the states. We are not attaching any political significance to it,” said Premender Reddy, T-BJP general secretary, who was present during the meeting.
At a high point of his film career, NTR is expected to plunge into politics later, a demand from his fans and a course that would only appear natural. His late father, Nandamuri Harikrishna, was a Rajya Sabha MP, while his maternal and paternal uncles include former CM Chandrababu Naidu, Hindupur MLA N Balakrishna.
NTR had a brief brush with politics, having campaigned for the TDP during the 2009 polls.
The question now is whether NTR could join the BJP, aiding its “Mission South” growth in Andhra and Telangana.
“If someone is attracted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s penchant for nation building, our nationalistic thought, they are always welcome,” a senior BJP leader said cryptically.
But saving such attempts for a later date, the BJP seems to be overjoyed by the fact that NTR agreed to meet Shah, fully aware of its message to the public.
Before meeting NTR, Shah also met media baron Ramoji Rao at the Ramoji Film City. The meet with Ramoji was rumoured to be a rapprochement channel to bring the TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu back into the NDA fold.
Some reports claimed that Chandrababu would also be present.
“We are not aware of any such business. Since the seventies, the Modi government has involved Ramoji Rao, who took a stand against the Congress misrule... The Shah-Ramoji meet is of like-minded people, sharing views and ideas,” said Reddy.