An Andhra Pradesh minister on Monday clarified that Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy or the state government had nothing to do with the election of Tollywood’s apex body Movie Artists Association (MAA).
Information and Public Relations Minister Perni Nani said the Chief Minister or the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) has nothing to do with the MAA elections.
His clarification came amid reports that the Jagan Mohan Reddy government is backing a special panel in the MAA elections to be held on October 10.
Actor Prakash Raj, who is contesting for the post of MAA president, thanked the chief minister and the minister for the clarification. He took to Twitter to thank the leaders of Andhra.
The panels, led by Prakash Raj and Vishnu Manchu, are locked in a straight fight. Both the actors are fighting for the presidency, while several film personalities from both the panels are in the fray for other key positions.
Prakash Raj had earlier criticized the rival panel for allegedly claiming the support of Jagan Mohan Reddy in the elections. While campaigning for his panel, the actor criticized those who dragged names of politicians in elections.
The MAA elections are taking place in the backdrop of a war of words between actor-politician Pawan Kalyan and Perni Nani and other Andhra Pradesh ministers over the issue of online sale of movie tickets in the state.
The Jana Sena leader had hit out at the YSRCP government for online sale of tickets, saying it would harm the interests of the film industry. He also questioned the silence of veteran actor Babu Mohan, who is the father of Vishnu Manchu. Except for a few actors, Tollywood has not supported Pawan Kalyan.
Since Pawan Kalyan’s brother megastar Chiranjeevi has announced support to Prakash Raj panel, another panel is reportedly claiming the support of Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Meanwhile, Prakash Raj also slammed the outgoing MAA president Naresh for branding him non-Telugu. The actor claimed that no one in Vishnu’s panel can speak Telugu like him. He reiterated that he is trying to work sincerely for the welfare of the artists.
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