Chiranjeevi has a huge fan following in the United States

Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi has a huge fan following in the United States and many of them have thrown their weight behind the actor who is set to launch his political party on Aug 26. A group of NRIs will launch a 'maha yatra' or mega tour of Andhra Pradesh from here on Thursday to mobilise public support for the actor's first public meeting to be held in the temple town of Tirupati. The actor on Monday night threw a gala dinner for about 300 NRIs, who had arrived here, to campaign for his party. The dinner at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) was attended by Chiranjeevi, his brother and actor Pavan Kalyan, brother-in-law and chief advisor Allu Arvind and some close aides. Chiranjeevi, who has a three-decade long film career, on Sunday announced his entry into politics and said he was dedicating his life to public service. The NRIs hailed the superstar's decision and hoped that he would usher Andhra Pradesh into an era of development and prosperity. Pavan Kalyan urged the NRIs to adopt a village each to undertake development works. After his impressive political debut, Chiranjeevi and his aides have now focused their attention on the Aug 26 public meeting when he would announce the name and agenda of the party. Sources close to Chiranjeevi said they expect a million people at the public meeting. More than 5,000 NRIs are also expected to attend the meet. Various associations of Telugu-speaking NRIs are busy making arrangements for the journey to Tirupati. Some of the NRIs in New Jersey recently held a video conference with Chiranjeevi's brother Nagendra Babu, a key figure in the proposed party. Chiru, as Chiranjeevi is popularly known, has a huge fan following among the NRIs in US, especially in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit and New Jersey. The NRIs were also in the forefront of a campaign to urge the superstar to enter politics. In January this year, one of the NRI groups, Pro Telugu Forum (PTF), launched an online campaign 'Change and hope with Chiranjeevi' to mobilise support for the actor and to appeal to him to take the plunge into politics. The group conducted events in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Virginia, New Jersey, Bay Area, Los Angeles and Detroit.