For fans of actor Rajinikanth like Bhagavathy Rajan from Tirunelveli, who has been camping in Chennai for the past week, exciting times lie ahead.
“Even if elections are held tomorrow, we are confident that he will become the Chief Minister,” Mr. Rajan said, standing outside the Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam.
Lending their unequivocal support, the film star’s fans burst crackers, distributed sweets and said this was the best New Year gift they could hope for — the dawn of a new era in the State’s politics.
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While some fans assembled outside the venue as early as 6 a.m., others joined in the celebrations after hearing about his decision to float his own political party.
“People keep asking where Thalaivar (Rajinikanth) had been for 22 years, and it is evident now that he was doing his homework to take the political plunge at the right time. He has laid stress on honesty and development and we will support him,” said Deepak Vikram, a bank manager from Chennai.
As Mr. Rajinikanth had asked his fans to be patient and not criticise any politician or party, some of his supporters, hailing from Villupuram, said they would pay heed to his advice and won’t indulge in such activities. “From now on, it is only going to get better for the State, as we are sure that Rajini will work for the people and function like the late Chief Minister K. Kamaraj,” said Rajini Prabhu, a fan.
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‘Focus on farmers, fishers’
Rajini Gowri, a dubbing artist and a fan of the actor, said she hoped Mr. Rajinikanth would shed light on the issues facing farmers and fishermen in the State, if he came to power. “At the district level, we will be ready to help him reach out to more people,” she said.
While the official number of fan clubs for the actor is nearly 50,000, registrations for new fan clubs had stopped since 1996. “Fans, however, have continued forming clubs and doing social work in his name. Now that he has announced his political intentions, we will start registering the clubs and get more people involved,” said R. Vimal from Chennai.
Meanwhile, Lyca Production’s creative head Raju Mahalingam resigned from his post and announced that he would join Mr. Rajinikanth’s political party in the future. Lyca Productions has produced Rajini-starrer 2.0 , arguably Tamil cinema’s most expensive film till date.
Stating that he would be working to strengthen the party at the grassroots level, Mr. Mahalingam said, “I have worked with Mr. Rajinikanth for the last three years and I was attracted to his personality and vision. So I decided to join his journey.”