Only in films, can actor
Rajinikanth get away saying, “If I have said it once, it means I have said it a hundred times,” a famous one-liner from his hugely successful Tamil film ‘Baasha’.
Politician Rajinikanth
, however, is forced to reiterate his stand more than once, if not a hundred times.
Although the actor had made it clear on December 31, 2017, while addressing his fans, that the assembly election was his target and that he would take a call on parliamentary polls closer to elections, Rajinikanth’s no to parliamentary polls has nevertheless left his fans and prospective members of his yet-to-belaunched party disappointed.
After a futile wait, for more than a year, for Rajinikanth to formally launch his party, educationist A C Shanmugham, who offered the actor the first public platform early last year to send out a political message to all, is now pitching for a Lok Sabha seat in the AIADMK-BJP alliance.
Rajinikanth’s Sunday statement was made to quell speculation and end confusion. But, as always, it has resulted in more political churning.
Some observers say his statement asking fans to vote for a party that gives a stable government at the Centre and which would resolve the water crisis in Tamil Nadu indicates a soft corner for the BJP. But, some others feel otherwise.
“The BJP was exerting lot of pressure on the actor, in innumerable ways, to get him on board – either by launching his own party and extending support to the BJP or at least by issuing a statement offering support to the prospective BJP-AIADMK alliance in the state. But, the actor has tactfully wriggled out of such scenarios,” said a party insider, who did not want to be quoted.
Some others feel his support is wide open to all parties, since no one has come out with a manifesto yet and every party could lay thrust on water crisis as a focus area.
“Rajinikanth has made his stand clear once again and he has also stopped short of extending even ‘vocal support’ to the BJP.
"If he is a close friend of Narendra Modi, he is equally close to Congress leader P Chidambaram and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu,” said state Congress leader Karate R Thiagarajan, a friend of the actor.