God willing, I’ll join politics: Rajinikant

CHENNAI: In the wake of mounting pressure from his fans to enter politics and in a bid to keep them in good humour, Tamil super star Rajinikant on Monday reiterated his ���open mind��� on plunging into politics. He is only waiting for a direction from Almighty.

In an hour-long interaction with his fans at his Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam in Chennai, the star told the cheering crowd: ���No body can force or compel me to enter politics. If there is a God���s will, no one can prevent me from entering politics. I will plunge into it���.

Rajini said he is fully aware of the sentiments and high expectations of his beloved fans. Right now he is busy with shooting for Enthiran. Once it is over, he is prepared to sit with his fans for a discussion on entering politics.
The star told them if he wished he could have entered politics at the peak of his popularity in 1996. But, he decided to support the fight put up by late G K Moopanar with DMK against AIADMK.

Referring to protests in Karnataka over his remarks on the Hogenakkal water project, he said he knew Kannadigas are peace loving people. Then, he had called for hitting back at only those who indulged in violence on the issue, he said. Rajini regretted that whenever there was a dispute between the two states on Cauvery or Hogenakkal, cinema halls are the first targets.

In political circles Monday���s meeting is being viewed against the backdrop of not-so-satisfactory performance of his last movie, Kuselan. Rajini, many feel, is galvanising his fans for the success of his next movie.

At the same time, others feel, the star with a strong fan base, cannot afford to ignore their long pending aspiration. A sizeable number of youths, frustrated over the domination by the two Dravidian parties, have started rallying behind the political parties started by actors Vijaykanth and R Sarath Kumar.