India’s General Elections are barely months away, and political parties everywhere are trying to form the best alliances possible. And therefore in Tamil Nadu, there has been quite some speculation about who Rajinikanth will support – and now, the actor has declared that he will neither contest the elections nor support anyone. However, the popular actor has tried to frame ‘water scarcity’ as the poll issue this time around.
In a statement released on Sunday after a short meeting with the office bearers of the Rajini Makkal Mandram at his Poes Garden residence, Rajinikanth said, "I will not be contesting in the upcoming Parliamentary polls. Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election is our goal."
Adding that no party will have the advantage of the superstar's support, Rajinikanth stated that neither his picture nor the flag of the Rajini Makkal Mandram, purported to be his political party, shall be used by anybody for election campaigning.
However, he added, "Tamil Nadu's most important problem is that of water scarcity. Hence, in your opinion, whoever you think is capable of forming a stable and strong government in the centre and formulate plans and implement them to permanently end the water problem, please vote for them without fail."
Rajini has in the past backed river interlinking in the country; this statement can be considered an important signal as far as Tamil Nadu politics is concerned. In the run-up to every election, Rajinikanth's support has always caught the eyeballs of parties across the spectrum due to the star's wide fan base. The best example to show how a sentence from the actor can influence the polls is the 1996-Tamil Nadu assembly elections, in which his comment, “Even God can’t save Tamil Nadu if Jayalalithaa returns to power,” is believed to have helped the DMK-TMC combine sweep the elections. It has been speculated for some time now that Rajini would back the BJP.
Last year, when opposition parties were coming together as a team against the BJP-led central government, Rajinikanth raised questions as to who is considered more powerful if ten members unite against them.
In December however, Rajinikanth grabbed headlines when he said that the BJP has lost its influence in the country. His comments came in the backdrop of the drubbing that the National party received during the state assembly elections of Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram.