Rajinikanth: politics
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Rajini Makkal Mandram
As on 4 Dec 2020
Jaya Menon and D Govardan, December 4, 2020: The Times of India
From: Jaya Menon and D Govardan, December 4, 2020: The Times of India
Rajini has announced his entry into politics on 4 Dec 2020. On that day this, according to Jaya Menon and D Govardan,is where the star stood politically.. In 1973, when M G Ramachandran rebelled against M Karunanidhi and formed ADMK, he took with him a chunk of the DMK’s frontline leaders and grassroot workers. But his fan clubs, the Mandrams, named after his films ‘Urimai Kural’ and ‘Naalai Namadhe’ formed the backbone of his new party. Three years later, ADMK swept the 1977 assembly election. Will actor Rajinikanth, who will turn 70 soon, repeat the MGR magic? Or even replicate the success of N T Rama Rao, who floated Telugu Desam in 1982 and defeated the Congress within a year?
The actor’s fans, friends and associates are confident that Rajinikanth’s yet-to-be-named new party would storm the Dravidian arena and sweep the April 2021 assembly election. But that’s easier said than done as it is a David versus Goliath battle. With barely five months to go for the election, Rajini and his band of ‘ rasigars’ are pitted against the two Dravidian giants, the ruling AIADMK and the DMK, who have been preparing for the 2021 election ever since the outcome of the last one.
While the making of a political party could prove a daunting task, there’s more. For any party, the booth committees form the backbone of its election machinery. While his associates claim that 80% of the work has been completed, Rajini’s fans, who constitute these committees, have little political experience. The actor is expected to rope in political experts and strategists, but his dithering over the years has cut into precious time required for the massive task of transforming fans into cadres.
R S S ideologue and Rajini’s closest advisor S Gurumurthy dismisses the potential hurdles saying his mere entry into politics would create a groundswell of support among people. “After Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa, politics shifted from personalities to party. Now the focus would be on Rajini,” said Gurumurthy. “He’s an honest man wanting to do good for the people and a spiritual leader…these are features not seen in any leader in TN today,” he said.
With the pandemic proving a major dampener, Rajini, who has health issues, will have to depend on 3D holographic projection technology to reach people. How effective such a campaign would be remains to be seen. “But imagine 20 Rajnikanths walking on the streets of TN,” said Gurumurthy gleefully.
There’s the biggest challenge yet – choosing the ideal partners to face the election. Pressure from the BJP has been immense not just for him to enter politics but to team up with it to break the Dravidian stranglehold over Tamil Nadu. Close associates have emphasized the actor’s apprehension in teaming up with the BJP for fear of losing minority votes. Which path he chooses could define the actor’s political fate.
The Arjuna who will be Rajini’s ‘sarathi’ in the virtual world Sixty-year-old Arjuna Murthy, a BSc Chemistry graduate, was a confidant of Murasoli Maran for nearly 7 years. Post that, Murthy took a business detour to mentor his daughter Lakshmi Deepa at Yeldi Softcom in creating a nearfield-communication-technology-driven payments platform. Negotiations with American Express for a stake sale dropped at the last moment over valuation issues.
Since then, Murthy has been busy hobnobbing with central leaders of the BJP. His wife and Union finance minister Nirmala Sitaraman are classmates and this helped forge a closer bond between Murthy and several senior BJP leaders. Before joining Rajinikanth’s proposed political party as its chief coordinator, Murthy was heading the BJP’s state intellectual wing. In fact, he had joined the BJP only recently.
Tamilaruvi Manian is an orator who could speak for hours on Tamil literature, especially about Bharathiyar and Bharathidasan. But politics was not his cup of tea. He not only failed to have a successful political career, but also was never in the habit of clinging on to one party for long.
Drawn by former chief minister of Tamil Nadu K Kamaraj, Manian dabbled in both the Indian National Congress and later in Congress (O). After the demise of Kamaraj, he shifted base to Janata Party. He joined hands with former Karnataka chief minister Ramakrishna Hegde, who launched Lok Sakthi party and became its Tamil Nadu president.
There was a time he backed Vaiko for CM post and projected it as his lifetime goal. He travelled across Europe and spoke in support of LTTE. Later, he went back to Congress. He was considered close to G K Moopanar and later his son G K Vasan. When his attempts to haggle a nomination to the Parliament and later to contest from Mylapore assembly seat in 2006 elections did not fructify, he fell out with Vasan.
Manian, who had earlier written a series ‘The Killers of Gandhi’ targeting R S S, vowed to work to make the then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi India’s PM in 2014. In the same year, he launched ‘ Gandhiya Makkal Iyakkam’ and voiced harmful effects of liquor. Subsequently, he organized a big rally of Rajinikanth fans in Trichy to show the actor about the power of his fan base. “There are three lakh cadres of Gandhiya Makkal Iyakkam ready to support and put up flags in every village of Tamil Nadu, the moment Rajinikanth announces his entry into politics,” Manian said a few months ago. It is now up to Rajinikanth to change the political fortunes of Manian.
Previous forays into politics
Ready for release
It has been in the making for long. Rajinikanth’s announcement that he will form a political party was a culmination of expectations of a million fans
1995
“Bomb culture is spreading in Tamil Nadu”, this was Rajinikanth’s first political statement, referring to a crude bomb blast near Mani Ratnam’s residence, at the silver jubilee function of 'Baasha'
1996
“Even God cannot save Tamil Nadu if Jayalalithaa returns to power.” DMK and TMC, a breakaway faction of Congress, swept the Lok Sabha and assembly polls
2002
Promised to develop a people’s movement to interlink rivers 2004
Pledged support for BJP indirectly by letting in camera crew of television news channels when he was casting his vote
2004
Termed J Jayalalithaa as ‘dhairya Lakshmi’ at a felicitation function Kept away from politics for a while. During every election, a statement was issued asking political parties not to use his name or image to seek votes
Dec 31, 2017
Made his first official statement about entering politics. “I will launch my party in time for the next assembly elections and put up candidates in all 234 seats. I will practise spiritual politics, which is above caste, creed and religion.”
March 2018
Spoke about giving MGR’s rule. “I am not MGR. But I can give a pro-poor rule like MGR,” he said, while addressing students of a private university
March 2020
“I want to see an uprising and wave for a change from people. I will come to politics then. It is not easy to take on AIADMK and DMK, with their established base and money bags. I will not be the CM. Will guide from behind.”
Dec 3, 2020
“I will launch my political party in January. An announcement will be made on December 31, 2020”
Dec 2020: Rajini junks political plans after ‘warning from God’
Rajini junks political plans after ‘warning from God’
D.Govardan @timesgroup.com
Chennai:
In the climax of his 2002 flop ‘Baba’, Rajinikanth makes a last-minute return from sanyaas to sociopolitical life. On Tuesday, the actor made a virtual repeat of the theme, this time in reverse, going back on his promise to launch a political party.
“I regret to announce that I am not in a position to launch a party and enter politics. Only I know the pain behind this announcement. This will come as a disappointment to those part of RMM (Rajini Makkal Mandram), my fans and people. Forgive me,” Rajinikanth said in a three-page statement. “Some people may ridicule me. But, fearing them, I cannot sacrifice those who trust and travel with me,” he said.
Rajinikanth, who was shooting in Hyderabad for his latest movie last week, was hospitalised for three days with complaints of fluctuating blood pressure after four of the crew members tested positive for Covid-19. He tested negative.
The announcement came as a shock for some, disappointment for some others, who were anticipating the actor’s promised December 31 announcement. Fans took to social media to express their dismay, yet many wished him good health. Some regrouped in front of his Poes Garden residence in a last-ditch attempt to make Rajini reconsider his decision.
R S S ideologue and Tuglak editor S Gurumurthy termed Rajinikanth’s decision “inevitable”. He hoped he would still make an impact in the coming elections as he did in the 1996 state polls (when the actor had issued a statement against Jayalalithaa), which the DMK-TMC alliance won with a big majority.
In his statement, Rajinikanth said, “Fluctuating BP is harmful for my transplanted kidney. I considered it as a warning from God.
