The reigning king of Tamil films, Rajnikanth, on Sunday sprang a surprise by endorsing Narendra Modi’s candidature for the prime ministership of the country. “Narendra Modi is a strong leader and an able administrator. Good wishes and all the best to him. Whatever he thinks, I wish him all the best,” Rajnikanth told reporters at his Poes Garden residence after meeting Modi. Modi called on the reigning superstar at the latter’s residence on Sunday.
Rajnikanth also said that when he was sick, Modi had called on him at a Chennai hospital. “He used to call me regularly to enquire about my health. I had told him to come home for a cup of tea whenever he comes to Chennai,” Rajnikanth said. Modi put it as a personal visit. “I came to extend my greetings to Rajnikanth on the occasion of Tamil New Year. He is a good friend of mine,” Modi said.
During the September 2013, Youth Rally at Tiruchirappalli organised by the BJP and which was addressed by Modi, Rajnikanth Fans Association had put posters all over the city welcoming Modi. The multi-coloured posters featured Rajnikanth and Narendra Modi.
Pon Radhakrishnan, Tamil Nadu BJP chief, had said at that time that there was nothing surprising in the posters. “Rajnikanth is a true nationalist and stands for a united and powerful India. It is quite natural for him to wish Modi,” Radhakrishnan said.
Though Rajnikanth did not extended support to any political outfits in the past, he told the people of Tamil Nadu in 2004 that he will vote for the BJP as the party had promised to interlink all the major rivers in the country to resolve the water scarcity of which Tamil Nadu is a major sufferer. But the NDA-led by the BJP lost the 2004 election. Rajnikanth remained silent in the subsequent elections held in 2009 and 2011. Rajnikanth’s endorsement of Narendra Modi is seen as yet another proof of the Modi wave sweeping all over the State.