Sir— This refers to the article, “Rajini arrives, does he have staying powerIJ” by Kalyani Shankar (January 3). Rajinikanth is not the first nor will he be the last non-political person to think that his involvement in electoral politics would make politics a cleaner and wholesome proposition. He has not hinted about his ‘ideology’ or his position on public policy choices. Politics is not an ideology-free pursuit; at the end of the day, politics means making choices, taking sides, often favouring this or that section in society, privileging one set of ideas and policies over others.
Rajini’s arrival in politics will not automatically lead to success. When J Jayalalithaa entered politics M Karunandihi shouted that she is not a Tamilian but belongs to Karnataka. Now the Rajinikanth will face the same challenge. We can expect his rivals to shout aloud that he is a Maharashtrian, his real name is Shivaji Rao Gaekwad and he started his career as a bus conductor in Bangalore Roadways.