Vijayawada: Whose men are they? And where have they gone on the day of polling? An interesting debate has begun in the political circles on the strength of Chiranjeevi fans after the reported success of his son Ram Charan’s Magadheera, which hit the screens in the state on Friday.

The hungama created by the fans of Prajarajyam chief Chiru and his budding actor son Ramcharan has led to chaos at many theatres across the state. The frenzy was more in many of the coastal districts and also in Tirupati from where Chiranjeevi got elected to the Assembly. The protests of the frenzied fans continued at many places though fans’ associations alone blocked almost all the theatres at most of the centres.

Now, the big debate is where did all these fans go at the time of the elections and why didn’t they work for the success of their ‘Annayya’? Political circles are abuzz with such discussions and are trying to find out the reasons for their silence.

In fact, Chiranjeevi jumped into the political arena ending his 30-year-long starry career in Tollywood by pinning his hopes on his fans. He dreamt to make his political career too, a big hit banking on millions of his fans. As expected, the fans did not disappoint Chiranjeevi during his campaign trail as most of his public meetings were largely attended.

Though dissidence, allegations over the selling of tickets and desertions by several senior leaders on the eve of elections could have damaged the party image to some extent, the fans were particularly upset when none of the fans’ association leaders were given party tickets. “In spite of displeasure over the selection of candidates, the fans have voted for PRP and no other party,” claimed Chiranjeevi’s ardent fan B Srinivasa Rao.

He said that there is no truth that the fans were neutralised by the leaders of the rival parties by pouring in cash as no one could purchase their love for the megastar. What’s puzzling everyone is: If Chiru’s fans really voted for him, why are the rhetoric scenes at the theatres absent on the polling day? There could be two reasons: One, Chiranjeevi’s fans liked him only as an actor and they want to see him again as their loved star in films. Second, they are fans of Chiranjeevi alone and not of the local candidates who contested the elections. So, they did not take to the streets like their counterparts in Tirupati, a political science professor at Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, analysed.

What’s interesting is, Congress leaders are ahead of the others in wooing such frenzied fans by arranging tickets for Magadheera in the first-week. Their gameplan? Keep the mad youth in their fold where they could play a key role the coming municipal elections.