Rajinikanth's poltical debut may open doors for BJP in Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: Rajinikanth may yet prove to be the magic talisman to boost the fortunes of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Tamil Nadu. Having struggled, for years, to expand its base in the southern state, the BJP state unit is latching on to the prospect of a turnaround through the Tamil superstar who announced his formal entry into the political arena on Sunday.

The 67-year-old actor’s speech with quotations from the Bhagavad Gita and the coinage of “spiritual politics” strenghtened perception of a pro-BJP stance.

Minutes after the announcement, an excited BJP was all for an electoral alliance with the actor for the forthcoming Parliamentary elections. Speaking to reporters at the Chennai airport, BJP’s state president Tamilisai Soundararajan, said: “Rajinikanth has spoken out against corruption. Also, he referred to the turmoil the state went thorough after the death of Jayalalithaa, precisely what we were have also been against.”


Rajinikanth has, however, clarified that his party’s support during the Parliamentary Elections in 2019 would be decided closer to the poll dates. Soundararajan asserted the actor would lend his support to the BJP due to correlation of political philosophies.

Political analysts are of the view that move may brighten poll prospects for the BJP. N Sathiya Moorthy, Director at The Observer Research Foundation, said: “I think the relationship between Rajinikanth and the BJP would be mutually beneficial: The BJP will ride on the Rajnikanth support during state Assembly polls and the other way in 2019. The real question is can both get more than the usual 10% share of voters looking for ‘political change’.”