Rajinikanth’s political entry, still a million dollar question

When asked about the actor’s remarks, Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar said, “Life itself is a battle and politics too is a battle. In a democracy anyone can enter politics, but it is the people who will take the final decision.” He said as far as Rajinikanth is concerned, he has not pronounced his stand on political entry and people should respond to it only after he makes it clear that he would take the political plunge. 

Responding to a query, freedom fighter and veteran CPI leader R Nallakannu said, “People can be saved only through their struggle and not by any new avatar.” 

However, Dinakaran’s supporter Nanjil Sampath ruled out the actor’s entry into politics. On December 31, he would not make any announcement about entering politics. ‘Politics is not a child’s play and it requires hard work. You should strain your muscle and shed blood to be in politics. Rajinikanth will not take the political plunge,” he said.

However, BJP state president Tamilisai Soundararajan said that the actor’s speech showed determination and clarity this time. She cited Rajinikanth’s words that he had been in politics since 1996. In that year, he openly supported the DMK-TMC alliance in the Assembly and Parliament elections. 

Tamilisai pointed out that the BJP had welcomed his entry many times. She hoped that the actor would announce his political entry on December 31 and he would root out corruption in the state. Reacting to a question, she said alliance with the actor’s party could be decided only after he takes to politics. Actor S Ve Shekar belonging to the BJP said one could not guess what he would say but his political entry remained a million-dollar question.

However, those who accompanied the actor on the stage gave an impression that the he would take the plunge at a later date. It is not known if they were expressing their own opinion or conveying what the actor had told them. 

Director Mahendran said, “Rajini is a cool man and he would think seriously before taking up anything. He will enter politics, but he should not be hurried into making a decision. Writer and producer Kalaignanam too said the actor would think several times before taking the plunge. He would listen to the opinion of everyone. Once he takes a decision, he would not go back on it,” he said.