By P. Sarojini
Chennai, India (CWBN)_ The legendary actor and superstar of Tamil cinema, Mr Rajinikanth, is now on the national headlines following his announcement regarding his political entry and formation of new party. In January, five months ahead of the Tamil Nadu election, superstar Rajinikanth will officially launch his long-awaited political party. The actor said his party would carry “spiritual secular politics” with no caste or religion, pledging “a wonder and miracle” in the elections.
The 69-year-old actor took to Twitter and wrote, “We will surely win the assembly polls and give honest, transparent, corruption-free, spiritual secular politics without caste, creed or religion. A wonder and miracle will definitely happen”. Rajinikanth expressed confidence in his message and tweeted with hashtags “It’s now or never” and “We will change, we will change everything”.
Later, he expressed gratitude towards Tamil Nadu people and told reporters, “I am ready to sacrifice even my life for the sake of Tamil people…It is now or never.” Without mentioning if he would challenge the elections, the actor added, “If I win it will be the people’s victory, if I lose it will be their defeat.”
Three days after the meeting with senior officials from his union, the Rajini Makkal Mandram, Rajinikanth declared his political entry, thereby ending decades of speculation. During a meet with reporters outside his Poes Garden home, Rajini said, “District office bearers expressed their opinions. They have said they will agree to whatever decision I take”.
In October, Rajinikanth took to social media to clear rumors that due his health issues, he was in double minds about his political entry. A leaked letter, suspected to have been written by the actor himself, fueled the speculation. The letter appeared to have said that after his renal transplant, the legendary star had been advised by his clinicians to limit his movements as he may be much more vulnerable to COVID-19. He was apparently told by the doctors that the only option left was a vaccine and that they were not sure whether his body would even tolerate it.
The actor stated that he would declare his stand at an “appropriate time” and cleared the rumor spread by the leaked letter saying, “The letter is not mine but the information on my health and doctors’ advice is true.”
Rajinikanth and his close friend and fellow actor Kamal Haasan are highly tipped to be the x-factors in the April-May 2021 Tamil Nadu elections. The coming 2021 Tamil Nadu polls is the first election after the death of the state’s two most influential leaders, J Jayalalithaa of the AIADMK party and MK Karunanidhi of DMK, which left a political void in Tamil Nadu.
The famous and revered movie star Rajinikanth enjoys an unmatched fan following in Mumbai and southern states with a wide catalogue of films. In 1996 Tamil Nadu elections, Jayalalithaa and her AIADMK party lost the election due to his remarks that said, “If Jayalalithaa is voted back, even God cannot save Tamil Nadu”. The actor’s presence in the upcoming state election will affect the ruling AIADMK party and its alliance BJP.
Karthi Chidambaram from Congress party in his twitter statement asked the BJP whether their partnership with AIADMK will continue in the coming election after Rajinikanth announced his political entry. He asked “Will BJP clarify?”. The BJP, in Tamil Nadu, is in need of a popular face to represent their party in the state. Rajinikanth is popular and have followers as well, but there is no specific political association or structure that can turn his fame into votes. The BJP spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathi appreciated Rajinikanth’s political entry and said, “Rajinikanth’s views are similar to the BJP’s. We would appeal to him to support us”.
The AIADMK party that lost the national election last year said they will continue their partnership with the BJP as they battle for their third consecutive term in Tamil Nadu elections. The DMK leader MK Stalin lost the Tamil Nadu polls in 2016 but won the national election. The DMK hopes to follow their winning streak in the upcoming elections where the state votes for a new administration.
Despite his meetings with BJP leaders and his statements favoring the policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rajinikanth has always denied his political leanings over the years. Rajinikanth likened PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to “Krishna and Arjuna” from the Mahabharata, days after the government ended special status for Jammu and Kashmir last year, and said parties should not play politics when it comes to the welfare of the country.
