Rajnikanth says will take a call on joining politics very soon
CHENNAI: Movie star Rajinikanth on Monday again deferred an announcement on whether he would contest the 2021 Tamil Nadu assembly elections, saying he would soon decide whether or not to join active politics after a two-hour, closed-door meeting with district secretaries of the Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM), a political extension of his fan club.
“They shared their opinions with me. I also shared my outlook with them,” Rajinikanth said outside his Poes Garden residence in Chennai. “They said that they will stand by whatever decision I take. I will announce my decision as soon as possible.”
On Monday morning, Rajinikanth met about 50 office bearers of the RMM at the Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam (Raghavendra Marriage Hall) owned by him. Fans thronged the venue and his residence, rooting for him to become the next chief minister of Tamil Nadu, where assembly polls are due to take place in early 2021.
“Most of the office bearers wanted him to contest the 2021 assembly elections, but we also wanted him to take care of his health,” said Thoothukudi district secretary A J Stalin. “The decision is his and we will support whatever decision he takes.”
This meeting comes after a letter leaked in October cast doubt over Rajinikanth’s entry into active politics because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The 69-year-old movie star dismissed the letter as fake, but admitted that the content about his health was true. Doctors had advised him not to enter politics because of his comorbidities. It was the first time that the renal transplant which he underwent in 2016 was acknowledged.
According to RMM officebearers, Rajinikanth is expected to make an announcement in a few days. Rajinikanth first announced his decision to enter politics in December 2017, but he has not taken any concrete measures to build his party. In March 2020, Rajinikanth said he would lead his party, but added that he wanted someone who is educated to be the chief ministerial candidate.
“For him (Rajinikanth) to say whether he will do this or do that will have to be read in the contemporary context,” said a person considered close to Rajinikanth, requesting anonymity. “It is not normal times and in Covid, entering the political arena is not easy. But under any circumstance, Rajini presents himself as an alternative.”