Time for Rajinikanth to Join Politics, His Brother Tells The Quint

With a political vacuum to fill, favourable conditions & pressure from fans, will Rajinikanth enter politics now?

Happy Birthday Rajinikanth (Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Now is the right time for Rajinikanth to join politics. This is not only the feeling of lakhs of his fans, but these are the actual words of his elder brother Sathyanarayana Rao. In an exclusive telephonic interaction with the The Quint from Bengaluru, he sounded optimistic about Rajinikanth’s prospects in a rapidly changing scenario after Jayalalithaa’s exit.

I think this is 100% the right time (for Rajinikanth to enter politics). But he will wait and watch for some time. He will finish his film next year. He will also see what happens in Tamil Nadu politics now.

Sathyanarayana Rao, Rajinikanth’s Brother

When asked if he’s recently discussed this topic with Rajinikanth, he said he has not, although he was in Chennai with the superstar when Jayalalithaa passed away on Monday. When asked if Rajini should join the BJP, he said:

There are no hopes in BJP. He should start a new party. He will definitely get majority. 

Sathyanarayana Rao, Rajinikanth’s Brother

Rajini-Modi Bromance

Although his brother wants him to launch a new party, the 65-year-old film star is slowly yet openly getting closer to the BJP in general, and Narendra Modi specifically. Remember, Modi had visited his Chennai residence in April 2014? Rajinikanth had said he was a “well-wisher” of “good friend” Narendra Modi. Although he claimed the meeting was not political, even a politically unaware person can tell you that ‘courtesy visits’ paid right before elections are indeed not courtesy visits.

Out of a total of 40-odd tweets tweeted by Rajini so far, 16 are related to politics and 5 of them are tagged to @narendramodi alone. They both regularly wish each other on birthdays. Rajini had congratulated Modi on his win in the Lok Sabha polls and recently supported the demonetisation drive. The PM was quick to thank him.

BJP Needs Rajini

Under the leadership of Modi and Shah, BJP is trying hard to enter the unconquered territories of East and South India. Tamil Nadu, with 39 MPs, is the biggest state in South India. In 2014, BJP managed to get only one seat here despite the huge Modi wave.

BJP is perceived as a Hindutva party of Hindi-speakers and Brahmins and hence resonates little in the anti-Hindi, anti-Brahmin Dravida politics of the state. The saffron party is trying hard to recast itself, but it badly needs a face in the land of extreme idol worshippers. Will Rajinikanth, aka Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, be that face?

It will be premature to talk about it as there are no concrete plans yet. He’s a BJP sympathiser. We will wait and watch. He’s not like other film stars, he actively takes part in social activities. He had given Rs 1 crore to river-linking project. He’s very much concerned about India. Nothing can prevent him from coming to politics. 

Tamilisai Soudarajan, Tamil Nadu President, BJP

Tamilisai Soundrajan while paying tribute to J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday. (Photo Courtesy: Screengrab from TV)

Tamilisai, daughter of a former Congress leader, is close to the Modi-Shah duo. She’s completely aware that BJP cannot grow on its own in Tamil Nadu. In the recently held Assembly elections, despite Modi campaigning, the party got a dismal 2.86% votes. It failed to win a single seat.

With Jayalalithaa gone and Karunanidhi ailing, the BJP’s hopes are renewed. Today, Rajini is the biggest recognisable, adored and clean face. Although Tamilisai is tight-lipped, young leaders of her party are more vocal about the Thalapathi.

If he fights elections, he will definitely be the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. But we cannot predict if will actually join politics.

Sathish Bhosale, Tamil Nadu State Vice President, BJYM

Will Rajini Bite the Bullet?

Rajinikanth paying his last respects to actor-editor Cho Ramaswamy on Wednesday in Chennai. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@theeejay)

Rajinikanth has had a love-hate relationship with politics. He had met the then-prime minister PVN Rao in 1990s and was going to endorse Congress in the 1996 Assembly elections. When Congress joined hands with Jayalalithaa, he supported the DMK alliance and had famously said, “Even God cannot save Tamil Nadu if AIADMK returns to power.” The DMK alliance went on to win those elections in a landslide. Jayalalithaa lost her own seat and her ruling party got only 4 seats in the state!

But after Jayalalithaa came back to power, he had to mend his ays wwith her. He later maintained a safe distance from both Dravidian parties. Political observers think he will never take the plunge.

He will never enter politics. He’s never shown signs of it. We keep romanticising about it all the time. Because he’s such a powerful and magnetic personality that every party wants him. It was BJP which started this buzz before 2014 elections.

Dhanya Rajendran, Editor-in-Chief, The News Minute

Thalaivar has 80,000 Fan Clubs!

Rajini fans pour milk as an offering over his cut-out on the release date of ‘Endhiran’ (Robot in Hindi) in Chennai, 1 October 2010. Now Rajini is working on the sequel to the super-hit film. (Photo Reuters)

Rajinikanth is indeed powerful, with over 80,000 fan clubs, most of which are spread across Tamil Nadu. His fans adore him like a God, buy his film tickets en masse, publicise his films for free, and even pressurise him to join politics. Some of his enthusiastic fans had even formed a party for him. Now they are eagerly waiting for an announcement.

I will actively campaign if Thalaivar decides to join politics. Not only me, all his fans will do it. We are all expecting and waiting for it for a long time. He can launch a new party or join any party he finds right, we will support whatever decision he makes.

M Rafik, President, Rajinikanth Fan Club, Madurai 

In his flims, Rajinikanth’s entry is always well-timed and sensational. When journalists had once asked him about entry into politics, he had said that that ‘right timing’ was the most important thing. So, dear Thalaivar, has the right time come?

(With inputs from Vikram Venkateshwaran)