Rajinikanth is the biggest superstar in Tamil Nadu. He is the doyen of Tamil cinema and commands a global following among the Indian diaspora. Rajinikanth's last Film "Peta" was a big hit. It proved that he remains the biggest superstar on the Indian film scene. Rajnikant has for long been stating his intention to enter politics. However, for reasons best known to him has not taken the plunge. It has now been reported that he has stated that there is a void of a proper leader in Tamil Nadu. By inference one can conclude that Rajini is still toying with the idea of entering politics.
News 18 has reported that Rajini has got support from Alagiri, the brother of MK Stalin of DMK.
Stalin counters as Alagiri supports
Rajinikanth's statement was immediately countered by the DMK leader MK Stalin. He rejected the contention of the superstar. Now Rajnikant has got support from an unexpected quarter. The brother of MK Stalin, Alagiri has supported Rajinikanth. This is in stark contrast to the stand taken by the DMK. As is well known Rajnikanth has no love for the DMK and his entry will be at the expense of the DMK.
For the last couple of years, Rajinikanth has been threatening to enter politics but he is in a double mind and unable to decide his course of action. Rajinikanth has stated several times that he will enter politics.
Just before the parliamentary election, he had announced that he would make his entry into politics very soon. He has however continued signing films and his latest film "Darbar" is heading for release and people are anxiously waiting for this film.
Rajini and politics
There is a possibility that Rajinikanth may finally take the plunge after the release of the Darbar.
Rajinikanth is getting closer to 70 and time is not on his side. In contrast, the previous film star Jayalalitha had entered politics when she was much younger. Her death has left a void and Rajinikanth aims to fill this leadership gap
It is a moot point whether Rajinikanth will succeed. Before him, another superstar of the Tamil screen Kamal Hassan entered politics but his party could not win a single seat in the recently held parliamentary election.
He has not caught the imagination of the people. The Times of India has reported that he has supported the comment of the superstar.
Rajnikant will have to be careful and see that he does not end up the way Kamal Hassan has. Even earlier Shivaji Ganesan a great actor could not match the charisma of MGR and faded away.
Rajnikant cannot take solace from the statement of Alagiri who is this brother of Stalin. He is a lightweight in Tamil politics. In the meantime, Rajnikant has only stated his intention to enter politics but continuous to sign new films. He appears to be partial to the BJP but he must remember that the BJP is a small-time player in Tamil politics. Rajini had earlier referred to Modi and Shah as Krishna and Arjun from the Mahabharta.
Dravidian parties stranglehold
The space in Tamil politics is occupied by the DMK and the AIDMK. Rajinikanth will have to break the stranglehold of these two Dravidian parties who have dominated the politics of Tamil Nadu for the last 60 years. It will be interesting to watch how Rajnikant counters these parties. He will be hoping that he can don the mantle of Jayalalitha but as one says the mountain looks blue from far and Rajnikant has his work cut out if he wants to enter politics.