Rajinikanth

The actor had said that a vacuum prevails in Tamil Nadu politics after the demise of DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa.

With his statement mentioning Tamil Nadu’s water concerns, some analysts speculated that Rajinikanth may have been hinting at backing regional parties. “Cauvery water is the major issue in Tamil Nadu. Since the Congress and the BJP have a better footing in Karnataka than Tamil Nadu, they are likely to consider the interests of Karnataka first. So, Rajini might have opted for TN’S regional parties,” said Tharaasu Shyam, a political analyst.

Rajinikanth had favoured linking rivers in the early 2000s. He had also observed a hunger strike and pledged to donate ₹1 crore for the scheme.

Meanwhile, the president of BJP’S Tamil Nadu unit said she saw Rajinikanth’s comments as a “positive” development for her party. “The people of Tamil Nadu know who is strong in the Centre now and which party has sorted out the water issue. Rajini has taken the right decision. We take this announcement in a positive way,” said Tamilisai Soundararajan.

A few hours after Rajinikanth’s announcement, his celluloid colleague and Makkal Needhi Maiam president Kamal Haasan said that people would not respect leaders who announce their political entry but were not willing to face elections. “As I have entered politics, I cannot avoid elections… As a political party, we should face elections. If we say that we will see in the next elections, then people will not respect us,” Haasan said.