The December 3 announcement by Tamil film actor Rajnikanth – who has in the recent past equated Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Krishna and Home Minister Amit Shah with Arjun – to plunge into politics on the eve of New Year and subsequently form a new party to introduce ‘spiritual’ secular politics just ahead of April 2021 Assembly election in Tamil Nadu has come as a bit of surprise. He had openly supported the abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019 and later Citizenship Amendment Act, though he at the same time was critical of the Delhi riots of February 2020.
No doubt, film actors and actresses have plunged into politics and have succeeded in reaching the top, especially in Tamil Nadu and undivided Andhra Pradesh. While M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa went on to become the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, N T Rama Rao won the 1983 Andhra Pradesh Assembly election just a year after forming his own, Telugu Desam Party. He was a famous Telugu actor and played the role of Krishna in several movies.
N T Rama Rao and Jayalalithaa fully exploited their stint in film to rise and consolidate their position in politics in their respective states, M G Ramachandran, who became the chief minister for the first time in 1977, though being a renowned actor, was in politics since quite early age. He had earlier in his life been in the Congress and then spent quite a few years in the DMK.
However, he broke away from M Karunanidhi in 1972 to form his own AIADMK. As he was a popular film actor, he soon rose to become a big challenger to Karunanidhi in Tamil Nadu.
On the eve of election, films in which these above-mentioned personalities had acted would be shown free of cost to masses to attract votes. But it is also true that Jayalalithaa, the six-time chief minister, had lost several elections too in her about 35 long years of career in politics. It is also true that she and N T Rama Rao used their career in film to achieve instant success. For example, Jayalalithaa, then a political greenhorn, became the chief minister a few months after the death of Ramachandran in 1987, with whom she had worked in cinema and supposed to be close to him. She succeeded Janaki Ramachandran who had served as the CM for a brief period after the death of her husband.
This is very much against the North India, where the actors and actresses have achieved limited success.
But Rajnikanth’s story is somewhat different. He has decided to float his party when he has past the age of 70 and has undergone kidney transplant. The doctors have advised him to take care of his health yet he has dropped enough hint that his upcoming party would contest all the 234 seats.
Political observers are of the view that Rajnikanth is making a late entry into politics. M G Ramachandran or MGR as he used to be called had died at 70, Jayalalithaa even two years shorter than him, and N T Rama Rao passed away at 73. Rajnikanth, on the other hand, on December 3 had announced that he would bet his life to bring about change in Tamil Nadu.
Though experts on Tamil politics like former editor of The Hindu, N Ram, are of the view that all these are speculations and it would be too early to say anything, the ruling AIADMK and the BJP were quick to welcome Rajnikanth’s decision.
They have reason to feel elated as Rajnikanth can provide a face in the election being held for the first time after the death of two towering personalities J Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi.
The AIADMK and BJP, which contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election in alliance were completely routed out. The two won just one seat while the rest 38 was bagged by DMK, Congress, Left alliance. Thus, this was the worst performance of the NDA, which otherwise did very well in rest of the country.
As M K Stalin, the son of Karunanidhi, had emerged as the hero and the AIADMK-BJP combine still struggling, in Rajnikanth the NDA sees a ray of hope.
As the saffron party is leaving no stone unturned to make entry into Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Kerala, they badly need a prominent friendly figure in South India. The party is slowly consolidating its position in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The big way in which the party contested the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation election only makes its intention clear. Almost all the BJP bigwigs, from Union home minister Amit Shah to UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath to party president J P Nadda, and several others were pressed into service. Though the main rival was the ruling Telangana Rashtriya Samiti of chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, the saffron party chose to make it a Hindu-Muslim battle by targeting its partner in the state Assembly, Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen.
The BJP chose to antagonise the TRS even though on a number of crucial occasions the party had supported the Narendra Modi government in Parliament. It backed the government on Article 370 and abstained from both the Houses on Triple Talaq Bill and thus in a way supported it.
In the 150-ward Municipal Corporation the BJP managed to improve its tally from four last time to 48 this time.
The AIMIM retained 44 seats – the same number as the last time – though it contested in only 51 wards. The biggest sufferer was TRS, whose tally came down to 56 against 99 last time.
The BJP’s southern expedition is essential for removing the image of the cow belt party, so they are prepared to support anyone who have soft corner for it. Rajnikanth is one among them. But it is too pre-mature to say how much personal ambition the film actor himself nurses.
Anyway, another cinema personality from the state, Kamal Haasan, too has floated his party, Makkal Needhi Maiam. But he is a critic of the BJP.