Rajinikanth not to contest Lok Sabha elections

Tamil superstar Rajinikanth has ended months of speculation on Sunday as he made it clear he would neither contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, due in April-May, nor support any party.

Rajinikanth on Sunday announced that he will not contest the coming Lok Sabha polls nor will he support any political party. Photo: PTI

CHENNAI: Tamil superstar Rajinikanth has ended months of speculation on Sunday as he made it clear he would neither contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, due in April-May, nor support any party. Rajinikanth had floated his outfit the Rajini Makkal Mandram as a precursor to launching a political party and there were reports that he will contest Lok Sabha polls. In a statement on a letterhead of his fan club Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM), the actor informed his fans that his name or photograph should not be used by anyone seeking votes. He also appealed to the people of Tamil Nadu to vote for a party who they believed would be able to bring a permanent solution to the water crisis in the state. "I am not contesting in the forthcoming Parliamentary elections. Our target is only the Assembly polls. I am not supporting anyone and no one should use my picture or outfit's flag for political campaign purposes," he said. "Rajini Makkal Mandram has no support to any party in the upcoming Parliamentary elections. No one should use my photograph or the flags of the Rajini Makkal Mandram for campaigning," the actor said. The actor had a brief interaction with the district secretaries of Rajini Makkal Mandram on Sunday at his Poes Garden residence here, sources said. Pictures shared on social media platforms showed the actor, clad in a white kurta, interacting with the district secretaries. Later, he also seen posing for group photograph with them. Reacting to the development, political strategist Jhon Arokiasamy told IANS: "By this announcement, Rajinikanth signals that he is maintaining an equidistance between the BJP and Congress. Also, he does not want any connection with the likely AIADMK-BJP alliance. "Perhaps this was done after the reversals suffered by the BJP in the recent assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and other states. That apart, he is setting the Lok Sabha poll narrative for Tamil Nadu by referring to the water problem," Arokiasamy added. Rajinikanth, who turned 69 in December 2018, had announced his political entry on December 31, 2017 while interacting with his fans here. He had then said his to-be-launched political party will contest in all the 234 assembly segments in Tamil Nadu during the next polls, due in 2021. The actor's long-time colleague in cinema, Kamal Haasan, who has no love for the BJP, last year floated a political outfit, Makkal Needhi Maiam. He has announced that his outfit will contest the coming Lok Sabha elections on its own. (With inputs from agencies)