After ‘no’ to LS elections, Rajinikanth skips Assembly bypolls too

When he was asked if hewould fight the bypoll as he had declared the Assembly polls to be his only target, the actor tersely said, “No.”

The actor is yet to launch his political outfit, though onDecember 31, 2017, he had announced that his political entry was sure to fructify.

To questions like which party he would support (in the bypolls), Rajinikanth told reporters at the airport here, “Sorry, I cannot say anything now.” Asked whether he had meant a national or a regional party when he had mentioned last month that only that party should be supported which would resolve the “water problem” of Tamil Nadu, he said, “Both.”

On February 17, Rajinikanth had said “water is Tamil Nadu’s important problem” and asked his fans and people to vote for a party whom they thought would permanently resolve the issue by formulating and implementing projects.

The jargon “water problem” is perceived as a reference to water scarcity in parts of the State and the Cauvery issue as well. Rajinikanth had strongly pledged his support for interlinking rivers on more than one occasion in the past.

The top actor had also said last month that he would not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election. “Our target is only the Assembly polls. I am not supporting anyone,” he had said and barred anyone from using his images or the flag of the Rajini Makkal Mandram for political purposes.

After his film Petta released in January, Ranjinikanth is expected to begin shoot for his next film with AR Murugadoss in March.