NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, FEB 9
Actor Rajinikanth (69) may plunge into politics after Tamil New Year, according to top leaders of his fans club – Rajini Makkal Mandram.
When people believe that Rajinikanth is leaning towards the BJP, and he was influenced by Chennai-based RSS leader S Gurumurthy, a seasoned political strategist Tamilaruvi Manian of Gandhiya Makkal Iyakkam, is believed to have playing the role of his political entry on his own.
Manian, who is holding talks with some leaders from other parties, refused to divulge names but said PMK, an ally of AIADMK and NDA in Tamil Nadu, will be with Rajinikanth, and that “more parties are waiting”. “There will be a rainbow alliance – like the one I had built for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls for NDA with the support of PMK, Vijayakanth’s DMDK and Vaiko’s MDMK, which bagged nearly 19 per cent votes,” he said.
While Manian did not spell out whether Rajinikanth would ally with BJP, he was categorical about the actor’s “strong reservations” against T T V Dhinakaran. “An alliance with BJP will be decided by Rajinikanth himself, but he fears there may be a negative impact if he strikes an alliance with Dhinakaran,” he said.
A source with access to Rajinikanth’s inner circle asserted that the BJP will “definitely” help the actor “run the show”. “The BJP may or may not join his alliance but irrespective of a deal, the BJP will definitely help Rajinikanth, as their aim is to defeat DMK in Tamil Nadu,” the source said.
Manian said the wind is “favourable”, and the latest development has “already left the DMK and the AIADMK jittery”. The state is scheduled to go to the Assembly polls next year.
While the proposed party has no other prominent face as yet, and many in Rajinikanth’s camp admit the challenges, a close aide who wields sizeable clout in state politics claimed that at least two top AIADMK leaders are likely to join the party.
But Manian pointed out that there was no second-rung leader even when M G Ramachandran — MGR — had floated AIADMK. “Eventually his district-level leaders emerged as state leaders,” he said.
