Key announcement likely by Rajini in today’s Mandram meet

Rajinikanth’s meeting with the district secretaries for the second time in a week has given credence to the speculation of the actor announcing the launch of his political party, including the date.

“We have been asked to attend the district secretaries meeting chaired by Thalaivar at 8 am at Ragavendra Kalyana Mandapam. We have a hunch that he will announce the date of the political party launch as the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls is only a year away. But no agenda was shared with us,” said a district secretary of the RMM.

For the first time, the actor will address a scheduled press conference, after the district secretaries meeting, at a five-star hotel. This lends more credence to the rumours.

The meet will be keenly watched by all political parties in the state, including the ruling AIADMK and the Opposition DMK.

Tamilaruvi Manian, a former Congressman and a close confidant of the actor, said that Rajinikanth meeting the district secretaries for the second time in a week itself is a significant move. “I don’t want to speculate anything now. He will reveal everything tomorrow,” he said. Manian met the actor at his Poes Garden residence on Wednesday.

In the March 5 meeting with the district secretaries, Rajinikanth had told them he would not be a Chief Ministerial candidate for the upcoming polls. But the actor’s view was outrightly rejected by all district secretaries. Manian has urged the actor to reconsider his decision and asked him to hold on to the Chief Ministerial candidature and nominate someone else to head the party.

On December 31, 2017, Rajinikanth announced that he would take the political plunge in the 2021 Assembly polls by launching his party to contest in all the234 Assembly seats. Immediately after the announcement, he converted his fans club into Rajini Makkal Mandram and appointed office bearers. The RMM is likely to be converted into a political party soon.