On Sunday evening, the political focus in Chennai turned on superstar Rajnikanth. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi visited the actor's home and spent 40 minutes talking to him. It was clear that Modi hoped to gain traction for his campaign from the enormous appeal the 63-year-old actor enjoys in Tamil Nadu.
But Rajnikanth has refused to take sides. Speaking to reporters later, the actor said “there was nothing political” about the meeting. He added that “Modi was his well-wisher and he is Modi’s well-wisher.” Modi himself said he had met the actor to greet him for Tamil New Year. But a BJP candidate from Tamil Nadu, on condition of anonymity, said, “Modi is our superstar and we hope the meeting itself would be seen by Rajni’s fans as the actor’s endorsement of our PM candidate."
Since the 1980s, Rajnikanth’s position as the number one star in the state has remained unchallenged. His fan clubs have memberships that rival those of political parties. But when it comes to the question of joining politics, he has remained aloof for the last decade. This is a departure from his previous record, when he made several political statements and his films often featured scenes in which fans pleaded with him to enter politics.
During the 1996 state elections, for instance, Rajnikanth campaigned against J Jayalalithaa of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, whose tenure as chief minister starting from 1991 was marked by serious allegations of corruption. “Not even God can save Tamil Nadu if she is voted to power,” Rajnikanth had said. Jayalalithaa went on to a crushing defeat, even losing her own seat. Following this, in his 1998 film Padayappa, there were charged lines that that reflected Rajnikanth's opposition to Jayalalithaa.
In the 2004 national election, though Rajnikanth took a stand against the Pattali Makkal Katchi and indicated support to the BJP-led alliance, he neither campaigned nor appealed to his fans to vote for a particular party.
Since then, he has refused to entertain any political questions and his films have avoided political overtones. In 2011, Rajnikanth backed the Anna Hazare movement against corruption but when asked if he planned to enter politics, he said, “God only knows."
Given the number of Tamil Nadu politicians who started life in the movie business, the speculation about Rajnikath is quite understandable. Jayalalithaa and her mentor, MG Ramachandran, were both film stars. Her rival M Karunanidhi of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a celebrated script writer. Until the 1990s, being a big star in the state was seen as an automatic ticket to politics.
However, the fact that Rajnikath has not demonstrated an active interest in politics has only reduced the impact of his statements over the years. Said senior Journalist RK Radhakrishnan, “Even if he declares categorical support, it is not clear how much of an impact it can make today.”
In the end, for the BJP alliance, it all boils down to caste arithmetic of their allies and their biggest star remains Narendra Modi.
But Rajnikanth has refused to take sides. Speaking to reporters later, the actor said “there was nothing political” about the meeting. He added that “Modi was his well-wisher and he is Modi’s well-wisher.” Modi himself said he had met the actor to greet him for Tamil New Year. But a BJP candidate from Tamil Nadu, on condition of anonymity, said, “Modi is our superstar and we hope the meeting itself would be seen by Rajni’s fans as the actor’s endorsement of our PM candidate."
Since the 1980s, Rajnikanth’s position as the number one star in the state has remained unchallenged. His fan clubs have memberships that rival those of political parties. But when it comes to the question of joining politics, he has remained aloof for the last decade. This is a departure from his previous record, when he made several political statements and his films often featured scenes in which fans pleaded with him to enter politics.
During the 1996 state elections, for instance, Rajnikanth campaigned against J Jayalalithaa of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, whose tenure as chief minister starting from 1991 was marked by serious allegations of corruption. “Not even God can save Tamil Nadu if she is voted to power,” Rajnikanth had said. Jayalalithaa went on to a crushing defeat, even losing her own seat. Following this, in his 1998 film Padayappa, there were charged lines that that reflected Rajnikanth's opposition to Jayalalithaa.
In the 2004 national election, though Rajnikanth took a stand against the Pattali Makkal Katchi and indicated support to the BJP-led alliance, he neither campaigned nor appealed to his fans to vote for a particular party.
Since then, he has refused to entertain any political questions and his films have avoided political overtones. In 2011, Rajnikanth backed the Anna Hazare movement against corruption but when asked if he planned to enter politics, he said, “God only knows."
Given the number of Tamil Nadu politicians who started life in the movie business, the speculation about Rajnikath is quite understandable. Jayalalithaa and her mentor, MG Ramachandran, were both film stars. Her rival M Karunanidhi of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a celebrated script writer. Until the 1990s, being a big star in the state was seen as an automatic ticket to politics.
However, the fact that Rajnikath has not demonstrated an active interest in politics has only reduced the impact of his statements over the years. Said senior Journalist RK Radhakrishnan, “Even if he declares categorical support, it is not clear how much of an impact it can make today.”
In the end, for the BJP alliance, it all boils down to caste arithmetic of their allies and their biggest star remains Narendra Modi.
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