Tamil Nadu politics which has been confined to a war of words between the ruling AIADMK and the DMK-led Opposition about the numbers enjoyed by Chief Minister Edappady Palaniswamy in the Assembly got enlivened on Monday with a “star war” breaking out between Rajnikant and Kamal Haasan, the reigning super stars of the Tamil film industry.
Both Rajnikant and Kamal Haasan had given enough hints about their political ambitions and dreams with the latter declaring that he was in the race for the Chief Minister’s post. The statement by Kamal Haasan shocked the DMK working president MK Stalin, who had counted on the actor’s support for his own dream of becoming the Chief Minister.
What happened on Monday morning was the continuation of the spat between Rajnikant and Kamal Haasan on Sunday during the inauguration of the memorial for iconic actor Sivaji Ganesan built by the Tamil Nadu Government. In his felicitation speech Rajnikant said that the popularity gained in films may not pay any dividends in electoral politics. “The message is that to succeed in politics, it’s not enough to have just fame and clout earned in cinema. There is something beyond that and I don’t know what it is,” Rajnikant had said on Sunday. He went on to add that perhaps Kamal Haasan knew what that something was but might not want to share the secret with him.
While the crowd had a hearty laugh, a visibly shocked Haasan chose to strike back on Monday. He tweeted on Monday (Gandhi Jayanti) without naming Rajnikanth. “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you and then they fight you and then you win — Gandhi ji. His words impart strength we need now,” tweeted Haasan hitting at Rajnikanth and those who enjoyed the comment made by the actor.
Political observers in Tamil Nadu are amused over the speed with which Haasan struck at the observations made by Rajnikanth. “He could not frame a reply immediately after the speech by Rajnikant. He had been told by his advisors that Gandhi Jayanthi would be the ideal occasion to reply to his potential rival in politics,” said a commentator. Haasan, who is known for his criticism of the Hindutwa politics has the support of the CPI-M, CPI, VCK , the Congress and also a Chennai based media group which supports the Marxists.
The impression in Tamil Nadu is that Rajnikanth may soon launch a political outfit and parties like the BJP, struggling to get a foothold in the State , may extend support to him. A senior RSS ideologue, who is disenchanted with the Tamil Nadu BJP, is advising the actor about the modalities of the would be political party to be launched by 0the actor. Haasan, on his part had travelled to Kerala and met the CPI-M strongman and chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking his support. Arvind Kejriwaal, the Delhi Chief Minister flew down to Chennai to meet Haasan and described the latter as his comrade-in-arms against corruption and communalism. It may be noted that Haasan made the announcement about his Chief Ministerial dreams only after his meetings with Vijayan and Kejriwaal.