The reigning monarch of Tamil films, Rajinikanth, said in Chennai on Monday that joining politics is not a bad idea. People in Tamil Nadu, reeling under a severe leadership vacuum caused by the demise of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and the immobilisation of the 94-year old M Karunanidhi due to age related issues could soon look forward to Rajinikanth offering his services to lead them to a world of prosperity.
Rajinikanth (66), the Karnataka-born iconic figure in Tamil tinsel town, gave enough hints to his fans in the Monday meeting that he may join politics. “If I do not join politics, it is like disappointing you,” said Rajinikanth in his first meeting in eight years with his fans. The next five days will see Thalaivar (Tamil for leader, as the superstar is addressed by his fans) interacting briefly with fans from all over the State.
The superstar said that he would not like to disappoint his fans by saying he would not join politics. But in the next sentence he asserted that if he is destined by God to become a politician, he would never shun the responsibility and at the same time clearly underscoring that those who are dabbling in politics for the sake of money making could never hope to come under his umbrella. By these words he sent a strong message to his fans that elimination of corruption would be his prime job if he has to enter the sphere of politics in Tamil Nadu.
Rajinikanth has spurred new hopes that he might jump into politics anytime considering the fluid and unstable situation in Tamil Nadu. But he gave enough hints that he would not align with the DMK-led front.
“I made a big mistake by supporting the DMK-led alliance in the 1996 Tamil Nadu Assembly election,” declared Rajinikanth and charged that certain people used his name for political gains.
Though he had declared during the 2004 lok Sabha election that he would vote for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, the front was obliterated in Tamil Nadu by the Rainbow Alliance cobbled up by the DMK which won all the 39 seats from the State. Since then Rajinikanth had kept a safe distance from politics.
During the run up to the 2014 lok Sabha election, Narendra Modi, the Prime Ministerial candidate of the BJP, had called on the actor at his Poes Garden residence while the former came to Chennai. Though Rajinikanth had waxed eloquence on Modi, he later declared that it was only a personal visit and there was nothing political in it.
He exhorted his fans to stay away from liquor and smoking which were the major threats to the families. The superstar also asked the fans to love their family members and trust in God Almighty, hinting that he may not cast lots with the lefts.
Political commentators in Tamil Nadu are spreading word that the BJP may project Rajinikanth as it’s Chief Ministerial candidate since the Hindutva party is struggling to get a foothold in the State. Since most of the persons portrayed as political commentators and analysts by the media are either with leanings towards Dravidian parties or pro-left, their words may have to be taken with a pinch of salt.