Ending two decades of speculation and uncertainty, Tamil film superstar Rajinikanth on Sunday emphatically announced his arrival in politics and declared that he will launch a political party in time to contest in all 234 constituencies in Tamil Nadu in the next Assembly elections.
His politics, he said, would be beyond caste and religion but “spiritual.” He would keep off the election to local bodies as the time is short and take a decision about the 2019 Lok Sabha polls later. The term of the current Assembly in Tamil Nadu will end in 2021.
Making the announcement in front of his fans at his Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam here, he said, “I will definitely come to politics. The time has come. In the upcoming State Assembly elections, I will contest in 234 constituencies. I will start a political party a few months before elections and tell people about our ideology and policies and tell people what we will do and what we won’t. If we can’t do it, we will resign in three years,” said Mr. Rajinikanth.
Explaining the reasons behind his decision to join politics, he said, “Politics in the State has deteriorated very badly. Democracy has undergone severe decay. In the last year, the political events that unfolded in Tamil Nadu have made the people hang their heads in shame. People in all States are laughing at us. If I don’t do anything in a democratic way to change this situation, the feeling of guilt will affect me till my death.” His foray into politics was the compulsion of time, he asserted. The actor recited a verse from the Bhagavad Gita, in which he quoted Lord Krishna’s advice to Arjuna to do his work and not worry about the rest, and said the “time has come” to enter politics.
“There is a need for a political change. The system needs to change. We need a politics that is truthful, straightforward and clean. We need a kind of politics that is devoid of influences of caste and religion. We need ‘spiritual’ politics. That is my goal and wish,” he said.
The actor said that while in the olden days kings would loot other empires and palaces, now parties were looting in the name of democracy. “In the name of democracy, political parties that come to power are looting people in different ways, different modes and different methods. Kings would loot other empires, but these people loot their own people. This needs to change,” he said.
