Chiranjeevi gestures to the crowd at his first public rally in Tirupati on Tuesday. (AFP)

Tirupati, Aug. 26: Eight lakh devotees sweated in the afternoon heat for a glimpse of their idol. But it was not Lord Venkateshwara they had come to see in this temple town but a robust human in white shirt, black trousers and Nike shoes.

Telugu film icon Chiranjeevi today launched his party before a sea of adoring fans as a giant screen behind the dais captured every movement of the Indian Rambo.

Social justice was the clamour of all sections of Andhra society, said the man famous for his screen battles for the weak and the downtrodden. His Praja Rajyam party, the star added, would fight corruption and work towards empowerment of women, youths and workers.

“Sad he didn’t dance,” chirped Nagalakshmi, a 22-year-old college girl waiting since noon among the eight lakh who had gathered for their hero’s political debut.

Police, however, put the number at six lakh, enough to trigger a stampede near the dais as the superstar’s fans tried to get a closer look.

But ecstasy also exacted its toll. PTI said a woman died in the crush and 35 were injured.

On the dais, the new party’s green-and-white flag with the sun in the middle fluttered as the hot afternoon faded into a cooler evening.

Displayed near the stage were portraits of Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa and social reformer Mahatma Phule, Chiranjeevi’s icons of social justice.

Chiranjeevi said his party would consider the Maoist menace as a socio-economic problem and invite the rebels to become partners in the change he wanted to bring about in the state.

“But he seemed subdued,” said Ramakrishna Reddy from Adilabad, who came all the way from Nirmal, a town 700km from Tirupati, to hear Chiranjeevi speak.

The punch appeared to be lacking despite the one-lakh-watt sound that boomed out of the Avilala grounds of the temple town.

“Words were coming out of him with great effort,” Reddy added.

But the crowd hardly cared for words. All they wanted was to see their idol, a police constable’s son.

“I am speechless,” Chiranjeevi later told his aides.

Chiranjeevi’s 75-year-old mother, actor son Ram Charan Teja and daughter Srija were also present.

“Thanks to Chiranjeevi, I should say we had easy darshan of Lord Venkateshwara but the crush of devotees is expected to increase later in the evening as all of them rush to Tirumala before the return journey,” said K. Raghu, a local hotelier. Temple authorities said the number of devotees was likely to increase by night.

“Our doors are open for all big and small leaders from other parties to join us and share our work,” said Amit Mitra, the party’s spokesman.