‘Superstar’ Rajinikanth’s remark that ‘wonders’ could happen, and the subsequent dig he took at Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami during an event celebrating fellow actor Kamal Haasan’s 60 years in cinema, have sparked speculation on whether the two film stars will join hands to contest the 2021 Assembly election.
Sources close to the actors say Mr. Rajinikanth and Mr. Haasan may have completely different ideas when it comes to politics, but joining forces may be the only way for them to defeat the Dravidian parties.
Despite the fact that the actors have taken different views on various social issues, Mr. Haasan has time and again expressed his willingness to work with Mr. Rajinikanth — he did so in the run-up to the Lok Sabha election and on the reality show Bigg Boss this year.
In response, though, Mr. Rajinikanth remained non-committal during the Lok Sabha election.
Mr. Haasan had earlier stated that Mr. Rajinikanth’s ‘saffron’ politics could be a problem. But Mr. Rajinikanth’s statement that the colour saffron was being smeared on him just like it was on Tamil poet-savant Thiruvalluvar, coupled with his remark that ‘wonders’ happen in politics, appears to make an alliance between the actors easier to imagine. Both have reiterated that their friendship cannot be broken.
But how do leaders of Mr. Haasan’s party, the Makkal Needhi Maiam, feel about a potential poll pact?
C.K. Kumaravel, General Secretary (Organisation), MNM, says, “This is a decision that Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth have to take together. First, Rajinikanth has to start a party.”
Can two people who are diametrically opposed in the way they think come together? To this, Mr. Kumaravel says, “When the PMK, which criticised the AIADMK so much, can work with the AIADMK when facing the polls, why can’t two lifelong friends work together? It is very much possible.”
It is too soon to talk about an alliance even before the launch of a political party, says former Mayor and AIADMK office-bearer Karate Thiagarajan.
“After M.G. Ramachandran, Jayalalithaa and Kalaignar [Karunanidhi], Rajinikanth seems to have an extraordinary following in Tamil Nadu. Once he starts a party, Rajinikanth will attract lower-level office-bearers and second-line leaders from other parties, which will make the DMK and the AIADMK weaker. This is my prediction. And the possibility of joining hands with Kamal Haasan can be discussed only after that,” he says.
VCK general secretary and Villupuram MP D. Ravikumar says Mr. Rajinikanth, if and when he starts a party, may not be an acceptable Chief Ministerial candidate for established parties. He feels that the intentions of Mr. Haasan and Mr. Rajinikanth may be the same, but their political ideas are so different that an alliance looks highly unlikely.
“BJP is the only national party which could probably go with him. The Congress and the Left will not back him as Chief Minister, and neither will other parties like the PMK. So, attracting major allies of the DMK and the AIADMK looks unlikely. An alliance between Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth is very unlikely – their intention may be the same (to form a government), but their ideologies are different,” he says.
Mr. Ravikumar says an alliance between the two could work only if one swallows his ego and accepts the other as the CM candidate.
