Chiranjeevi's Party launch on Aug 15

Is Chiranjeevi looking for an August 15 launch of his proposed political party? With confusing signals emanating from the Chiranjeevi household, nobody really knows when the actor would embark on his political journey.

But many analysts pondering over the subject averred that it would be a mid-August launch that the matinee idol could be looking at. The logic? With elections slated for April 2009, an August launch would allow the actor a long enough period to create a hype around him and his party, but the period would not be long enough for anybody to prick the bubble.

"Chiranjeevi is popular but he will depend on creating a larger-than-life image that will move the masses. Eight months will be long enough for him to tour the length and breadth of the state once and create an impact," a political analyst said.

The analyst predicted that if Chiranjeevi's party was launched earlier, say April, then it would be there for a longer period and would be open to scrutiny for that much longer. "This has the potential of taking away the hype and the feel-good factor,"he said.

Everybody, however, does not agree with this line of thinking. It is argued by some that although elections are slated for April/May 2009, they could well be held earlier. "Nobody knows for sure. If Chiranjeevi launches the party in August and elections are in December, he would be caught unawares and this is a risk he cannot afford to take,"said a potential entrant to the actor's party.

He added: "Ugadi is a good day and one year is the minimum time required to set up an organisation. So I will bet on an April launch."Interestingly, though the person is negotiating with the Chiranjeevi camp he has no inkling about a possible launch date.

Some other analysts think that if the actor waits far too long without setting an organisational structure in place, his fans could become restive. "The result could be the sort of roadside fracas that his supporters had with actor Rajasekhar recently. This is hardly something that Chiranjeevi can afford,"an analyst pointed out.

Meanwhile, there is a debate among analysts about which party would be hit hard by Chiranjeevi effect. Most analysts averred that the film star's indelible mark would be felt across the state, including Telangana. But the maximum effect would be seen in East Godavari and West Godavari districts of coastal Andhra.

Since these are precisely the districts where TDP's Chandrababu Naidu is recovering ground, Congress circles are upbeat and hope that the hero would jump into the fray fast. But mum is the word from the Chiranjeevi household.