Following high drama around the Movie Artistes Association (MAA) elections, Vishnu Manchu was elected president of the association and even though his rival Prakash Raj and his supporters resigned from their positions, Vishnu did not react.

Many artistes came forward claiming they faced mental harassment by the Manchu family during MAA elections. Others also alleged foul play in the elections. In this context, Prakash Raj has sought evidence from the spot. He has written a letter to the polling officer seeking CCTV footage from the polling booth.

Prakash Raj’s letter said, “You were witness to many unfortunate events that happened in the just-concluded MAA elections. The tempers were high and we saw unruly, anti-social behaviour of DRC member Sri Mohan Babu and ex-president Sri Naresh. They abused, threatened and physically attacked members of MAA.”

“I assume you used your discretionary powers to allow them and their henchmen in the polling arena.

Prakash Raj said the MAA elections and later incidents made them a “laughing stock” in the eyes of the public and there is disgust about behaviour of some known faces. He said even MAA members want to know the truth about these reports.

Prakash Raj has demanded CCTV footage of the polls, saying “as a polling officer, it is your duty to preserve all the records at least for three months.”

“I request you to give us CCTV footage as early as possible. Unless you act immediately, I fear the footage will be deleted or tampered with,” he wrote.

Like never before, the MAA Elections stood in the news because of the controversies. The panels of Prakash Raj and Manchu Vishnu contested in the polls and things turned murkier like never before. Even the bigwigs of Tollywood turned dumb and they could not control the situations. Several unexpected incidents were reported on the day of elections and Manchu Vishnu won as the new President of MAA. A depressed Prakash Raj submitted his resignation for the membership of MAA after he was called as a non-local. 11 members from the panel of Prakash Raj won in the elections.

All the 11 members of the panel of Prakash Raj submitted their resignations for their positions. Prakash Raj said that he would welcome Vishnu to take charge and fulfill all the promises that he made before the elections. “We want Vishnu to work efficiently and work for the prosperity of MAA. We will not interfere in their work but will question from the side of the actors who voted for us. I will also take back my resignation after the bylaw of a non-local contesting in the elections of MAA will be amended” told Prakash Raj.

Srikanth said that he urged everyone to vote for one panel before the elections but most of them participated in cross-voting. Benarjee turned emotional and was left in tears for the way Mohan Babu behaved on the day of the elections. All the members of Prakash Raj who won in the MAA Elections submitted their resignation for the posts they won in the recent polls.

Actor Prakash Raj has said that there is a deeper meaning behind his resignation from Tollywood’s influential industry body, Movie Artists Association (MAA).

Thanking the members who had supported him and his panel in the just-concluded MAA elections, the acclaimed character actor tweeted: “Hi my dear MAA members who stood by us … There is a deeper meaning behind my resignation from the MAA. We as a team know we are responsible to the love n support you all have extended to us.”

Prakash Raj lost to actor-producer Manchu Vishnu in a bitterly contested election and then announced on Monday that he was quitting the MAA. “We will NEVER let you all down … will explain very soon … you will be proud of us,” he added.

The actor had quit the trade body because he was upset over what he perceived as “regionalism” during the election and the ‘tukde tukde’ gang issue being raked up in the campaign. A native of Karnataka, the multi-lingual actor said he would remain a “guest” in the industry because that what his rival panel and its supporters want him to be.

During the bitter campaign, the Vishnu panel and its supporters opposed Prakash Raj’s candidature because he’s a non-Telugu. Prakash responded by stating: “My self-respect as an artiste does not permit me to continue in the MAA.” He clarified that he would continue to act in Telugu films and maintain his relationship with the film industry and his fans.

In the election held on Sunday, Vishnu was elected MAA president defeating Prakash Raj by 109 votes. The final results declared on Monday showed that Vishnu polled 383 votes while his rival garnered 274 votes.

The Vishnu panel also won all the key posts, barring the executive vice-president, which was bagged by actor Srikanth of the Prakash Raj panel. And of the 18 slots for executive committee members, Vishnu’s panel bagged 10 and Prakash Raj supporters got the remaining eight seats.

After Prakash Raj announcing his resignation, Vishnu appealed to him not to act in an emotional and hasty way. “You are an integral part of our family. I need your ideas and we need to work together. I request you not to reply back to me now. I will meet you soon and we will discuss. I love uncle and please don’t be hasty,” the young actor wrote to Prakash Raj.

Addressing a news conference on Monday, Vishnu said he would not accept the resignations of Prakash Raj and Naga Babu, megastar Chiranjeevi’s brother, who had also announced his resignation. Chiranjeevi, in fact, had supported Prakash Raj. Naga Babu said he was pained to see regionalism and intolerance that rocked the apex body of Tollywood.

The prestigious MAA Elections are expected to take place next month and Prakash Raj, Manchu Vishnu, Hema and Jeevitha Rajasekhar announced that they would contest in the polls for the role of MAA President. Harsh words were exchanged between them and Tollywood top celebrities had to intervene in the issue to control the situations. Prakash Raj called for a press meet last evening and the veteran actor announced his panel members. His clever moves are now the talk of Tollywood.

Prakash Raj himself revealed that he convinced the other contestants Jeevitha Rajasekhar and Hema. They are offered prominent places in his panel and he thanked them for their support. Prakash Raj also selected several actors from Telugu cinema who are efficient enough to handle MAA. He announced their names along with their strengths and the reason why he picked them for the panel. The actor also revealed that he would announce more updates once the date for the election is announced.

Prakash Raj also responded about Manchu Vishnu announcing to construct the building of MAA. He replied saying that there are several other issues of MAA to be sorted out before that. He also said that he alone cannot pool resources for MAA building and he will take it as a team effort after the elections.