Above: Huge cutouts of Rajinikanth outside a cinema theatre in Bengaluru/Photo: mashable.com

Will the superstar’s foray into politics make a dent in established parties such as the AIADMK and DMK? Will his huge fan base be able to take on the organised cadres of these parties?  

~By Colonel R Hariharan

The two-decade-long wait of thousands of fans of superstar Rajinikanth ended on New Year’s Eve when he announced that his entry into politics is certain. To the roaring approval of thousands of fans attending the six-day interaction with the Thalaiva (as they lovingly call him), he added: “I will form my own political party and contest from all 234 seats in the next assembly election.”

As the news spread, Tamil Nadu’s political parties went into a tizzy. They have strong reasons to worry—many of their youthful party cadres are also members of Rajini fan clubs. Responding to their Thalaiva’s call, there is a fear that they may shed their party affiliations to join his party.

Officially, there were 50,000 registered Rajini fan clubs in Tamil Nadu till 1995-96, when registration was stopped. Incidentally, there is even a fan club in far-off Tokyo. According to a media estimate, now there are 80,000 fan clubs in all. In his speech, Rajinikanth said: “I have several thousand fan clubs, in villages and cities all across the state. The unregistered ones are twice as many.” He said that uniting them all would be the first task. Moreover, there are thousands of fans outside these clubs too. It is these formidable numbers that worry the political parties.

TIMING IT RIGHT

Rajini’s entry could not have come at a more inconvenient time for political leaders as politics in Tamil Nadu is in disarray. The ruling AIADMK’s EPS-OPS leadership is locked in a power struggle with the challenger, TTV Dhinakaran, after his resounding victory in the RK Nagar by-election. Soon after his win, he vowed to “sort out” the present AIADMK leadership. He is the visible face of the Mannargudi “gang” of Sasikala, which provided the muscle for the late chief minister, Jayalalithaa, to rule the party with an iron fist. Thus, a leadership shake-up in the AIADMK looks imminent. The DMK, cut down to size in the RK Nagar poll, is sulking, while other smaller players who piggy-back on the two dominant parties are in a tailspin. All political parties, barring the Dhinakaran faction, are certain that the RK Nagar election has institutionalised corruption in the state.

In this murky political scenario of sleaze and corruption, governance has taken a nosedive. Tamil Nadu, once considered one of the most advanced states, is now a dismal 14th in national ranking. So the common man is able to identify with Rajinikanth when he says: “Last year’s events in the state politics have shamed the people of Tamil Nadu. The government has to be changed, system has to be changed.” He was humble enough to acknowledge that it would not be easy to do this and appealed for trust and support from the people.

Other leaders have either welcomed the superstar’s decision to enter politics or been cautious. The AIADMK predicted that Rajini would fail in his new avatar, while Dhinakaran and the DMK welcomed the move. The Congress expressed doubts about his ability to succeed without the organisational backing of an established political party. 

SAFFRON LEADER?

Ultra-Dravidian fringe leaders sporting black shirts picked on Rajinikanth for opening his speech with a quote from the Bhagavad Gita and branded him a saffron leader. However, Rajinikanth has made it clear that he will not join any political party. Though the BJP is not sure of Rajini’s support, the party’s state chief, Tamilisai Soundararajan, praised him for his aim to eradicate corruption in Tamil Nadu, as it resonates with the call of the BJP in the state. Caste-based parties of the state have always opposed film actors’ entry into politics, so it was no surprise that they suspected a BJP hand in Rajini’s decision. The irrepressible Subramanian Swamy of the BJP did not disappoint—he called Rajinikanth an illiterate. He said: “What will he tell us? Rajini is an uneducated man.” The MP called Rajini’s entry into politics a joke.

Tamil Nadu is no stranger to actors morphing into political leaders. In fact, Dravidian parties have had close links with the film industry. So Swamy’s argument that Rajini as an actor would not fit into the political mould is untenable.  Three powerful chief ministers in Tamil Nadu have had a film background—DMK leader M Karunanidhi was a well-known script-writer; MG Ramachandran, the AIADMK’s founder, and his favourite heroine, Jayalalithaa, too made their mark first in movies. All of them had a strong grooming in politics before they became CMs. The only exception was Vijayakanth, another popular cinema star, who started his own party with the support of his fans. He did fairly well initially, but seems to have been sidelined now.

Rajinikanth’s challenge will be to transform his loosely organised fan clubs and supporters into a coherent, disciplined political party with motivated leaders at the grassroots level. Then only can he take on the DMK and the AIADMK, both cadre-based parties. 

SOME MINUSES

He is hobbled by his background as a non-Tamilian from Karnataka. In a state where Tamil nationalism is on the upswing, it will be an uphill task for him. The second handicap is that he speaks of spiritual politics, nationalism and corruption-free rule amidst people who have been long exposed to Dravidian rationalist discourses about atheism and open hostility to Hindu religious traditions. It is fashionable for leaders in the state to routinely portray New Delhi as the villain out to suppress Tamils. Considering his spiritual grounding—he was groomed in the Rama-krishna Math and he is a follower of Raghavendra Swamiji, a well-known Vaishnav saint, his politics may well turn out to be a greenfield experiment in a not-so-friendly political environment. At 67, Rajinikanth has another movie phenomenon to contend with—Kamal Haasan—who too has been wearing the Dravidian symbol of black shirt and saying he will enter politics.

Can Rajinikanth succeed? He is able to relate to the audience better than anyone else. He has charisma and that is what led to the fairy-tale transformation of Shivaji Rao Gaekwad from a bus conductor in Bengaluru into Rajinikanth. In 2007, he was touted as the highest-paid film star in Asia when he was paid Rs 27 crore for Sivaji. As he calls for a “political revolution” in Tamil Nadu, it waits to be seen if Thalaiva can indeed bring about a change. He has given himself three years for the task. Will the reel life hero morph into a real life one? 

—The writer is associated with the Chennai Centre for China Studies and the International Law and Strategic Studies Institute