Tamil Nadu is abuzz with Rajinikanth joining politics. While situations are in his favour and he has numerous options to explore, the larger question is: Will he succeedIJ The southern State is desperately in need of good governance
Will Tamil superstar Rajinikanth finally enter politicsIJ Tamil Nadu is abuzz with speculations that the veteran actor might make a dramatic entry very soon.
Indeed, it is quite hard to keep up with how many times these speculations have come up in the past 21 years, as almost all mainline parties have been wooing him before the Assembly and lok Sabha polls.
The renewed frenzy over whether the star will become a neta began since last week when Rajinikanth met his fans after eight long years for a greet at an event meet where he said, “God decides what we have to do in life.
Right now, he wants me to be an actor and I’m fulfilling my responsibility. If god willing, I will enter politics tomorrow. If I enter, I will be very truthful and will not entertain people who are in this to make money. I won’t work with such people.”
The first time such serious talk about Rajinikanth joining politics came up was when he met Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao in 1996. While Rajinikanth shied away from taking a plunge, he helped the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led front by issuing a statement, “If Jayalalithaa is voted back to power, even god cannot save Tamil Nadu.”
Rajinikanth recently said, “About 21 years ago I was involved in a political accident, during that time for some reasons I had announced my support to a political coalition. And my fans and people of Tamil Nadu ensured a victory for that coalition. Since that day my name is being dragged in every time there is an election. And that’s the reason I keep clarifying that I don’t support any political party every time,” he said.
There is no doubt that Rajinikanth has been making political statements now and then. In 2004, he supported the Bharatiya Janata Party-All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) alliance after getting assurances that they would solve the drinking water crisis in Tamil Nadu. He took on Pattali Makkal Katchi leader Anbumani Ramadoss after the latter mounted a campaign against his on-screen smoking. In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met him just ahead of the lok Sabha elections, which created an image that Rajinikanth had endorsed the BJP.
After all, there have been many other south Indian film stars like MG Ramachandran, J Jayalalithaa, NT Rama Rao, Ambareesh, and Chiranjeevi, who have had
made a mark in politics. But not all film star-turned politicians have been successful.
Sivaji Ganesan, who broke away from the Congress, could not succeed. Even Vijayakant who launched his Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) in 2005 and won some seats in 2006, had found to his dismay that politics and films are two entirely
different fields.
Another actor, Ramanathan Sarathkumar, who had quit the DMK and launched his own outfit, the All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi, and had also won two seats, found that it is difficult to sustain in politics.
So, even if Rajinikanth finally makes up his mind, the question is: Can he succeedIJ This is indeed a million dollar question. And the time is ripe for an alternative after the death of Jayalalithaa. The AIADMK is split and there is no tall leader to keep it united. The 93-year old DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi is ailing. His son MK Stalin is struggling to keep the party united. Vijayakanth has almost disappeared. The BJP and the Congress have no credible faces.
Rajinikanth himself is 67 year old and the time is ripe for him to choose another field if he is tired of films. He has thousands of fan clubs not only in India but also abroad.
He has a Robin Hood kind of image as he has projected himself as the champion of the poor just as Marudur Gopalan Ramachandran did through his films.
Moreover, people are disenchanted with the Dravidian parties which are infested with
factionalism, internal quarrels, lack of leadership and vision. If Rajinikanth van come up with a new vision he might click.
Moreover, he has a choice of launching his own outfit supported by the BJP or join the BJP as its chief ministerial face. He has excellent equation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The BJP too is looking to import popular leaders from outside. BJP president Amit Shah too welcomed Rajinikanth to come to politics. He also has an option with the Congress which has not stopped wooing him all these years.
last but not the least, Tamil Nadu is vexed with the kind of vacuum and is looking to someone who can provide good governance and take the State forward.
Rajinikanth has an advantage of starting with a clean slate. “If in case I decide to join politics, I won’t allow wrong people to join me, I’ll keep them away,” he had declared. His millions of adoring fans
believe that only he can fill the void. His fans are happy that he has stated, “I will call you when there’s a war. You come then. In the old
days all men would go when there was a war.”
Rajinikanth’s fans remember his famous Muthu film dialogue, where he said, ‘No one knows when or how I will enter but I will enter at the right time’. Has that time come or will Rajinikanth disappoint his fans againIJ No one is willing to take a bet.
(The writer is a senior political commentator and syndicated columnist)