Actor Rajinikanth’s decision to drop his plan of launching a political party is likely to reinforce duopoly in Tamil Nadu politics in future too.
Since 1977, the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) have been the pole stars of electoral politics. When Mr. Rajinikanth announced early this month that he would start a party in January, certain sections expected the emergence, at last, of a strong third force. But the latest development put paid to their hopes.
“In this election too, it is going to be AIADMK versus DMK. Voters are going to be called upon to decide between [Chief Minister] Edappadi K Palaniswami and [DMK president] M.K. Stalin,” says veteran AIADMK legislator S. Semmalai, who has been in the fray for the last 43 years.
There is no unanimity on the assessment of the impact of Mr. Rajinikanth’s decision. DMK functionaries say there would not be any room for a split in the anti-incumbency votes, while the AIADMK feels that when there is “no anti-incumbency vote”, the question of splitting it does not arise.
On the contrary, anti-DMK votes will “solidly” go to the ruling party, believes a Minister who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Sources in the DMK and the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) say the actor’s decision should have been disappointing to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is perceived to be the one that props him up. But a key office-bearer of the BJP, dismissing the view, says the national leadership has been stressing the need for developing the party’s base in the State and not to look for “manna from heaven”. His colleague feels that had Mr. Rajinikanth chartered a journey independent of his party, the BJP would not have supported him.
A senior member of the AIADMK says the talk of the BJP using Mr. Rajinikanth to browbeat his party stands dismissed. Also, there is no need for AIADMK workers to nurse any apprehension about the conspiracy of creating a division in the party, he points out. He adds that the absence of the actor appears to have dampened the prospects of a strong third force.
Apart from what it can generate in the immediate future, Mr. Rajinikanth’s decision can have a long-term impact. A senior Minister says the actor’s entry might have infused fresh talent into politics.
E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan, Congress leader and former Union Minister of State, says the State has missed an opportunity of the actor playing the role of provider of a “course correction” to what the DMK and the AIADMK have been practising.
