‘My only goal now is to take MAA forward’

After a hotly contested battle, actor Naresh defeated Sivaji Raja to become the new president of the Telugu Movie Artistes Association (MAA). It was a cliffhanger as the pendulum swung both ways in this tightly contested elections but on the early hours of Monday, The Film Chamber of Commerce announced that Naresh, who had the support of biggies like Chiranjeevi and Nagarjuna, won with a clear majority, winning 268 votes compared to Sivaji Raja’s 199.
Other members of Naresh’s panel, including actor Rajasekhar, Jeevitha Rajasekhar and Rajeev Kanakala, also won with a majority. While Jeevitha Rajasekhar will be the General Secretary of MAA, Rajasekhar will be the executive vice president. “When we respect our elders, God will always make you win. That has always been my slogan. I’m indebted to Mega Star Chiranjeevi and Naga Babu for their continued support. Actors like Nagarjuna too came forward, and the list is long. But our only goal now is take MAA forward. We would like to dedicate ourselves towards the welfare of the artistes,” said Naresh after winning the elections.

The actor, who fought a bitter battle with Sivaji Raja, offered to bury the hatchet and work together with him. “Sivaji Raja said that I won’t even get 50 votes and never become president. But today, I have won with a majority of more than 70 votes. Nevertheless, I would like to invite Sivaji to come and work with me. Let’s work together for progress and betterment of MAA,” he added.
Actor Rajasekhar, who’s gearing up for his upcoming film Arjuna, was also delighted to come up trumps in a closely fought election. “When Naresh had asked me to serve in his panel as
executive vice president, I didn’t know that I would have to contest for it. I thought it was merely an honourary post. Given that I was pitted against a popular actor like Srikanth, I wasn’t sure if I would win. But I have this urge to work for Telugu cinema and ensure it prospers. That urge made me take up this task and I’m delighted to be given the opportunity to serve,” he said.