Two super stars of the film world—Rajinikanth and Pawan Kalyan—have stirred up political screens of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, hinting at their possible entry to the electoral arena by the general elections in 2019. If Pawan Kalyan has already entered active politics, Rajinikanth has dropped enough hints that he may jump into the political fray very soon.
Rajini wrapped up his five-day interaction with fans at Raghavendra Mandapam in Chennai on Friday, calling his supporters to be ready for “poru” (war), signalling the coming elections. He also lashed out at the present TN leadership, though he praised individual leaders like DMK leader M.K. Stalin and others. So, it is not if, but only when as far as Rajinikanth’s political entry is concerned.
The situation is still hazy, but indications are that both the states might be heading towards a phase where political arenas are dominated again by film heroes.
If M.G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa had dominated the earlier phase, Vijayakanth made a low key entry later in 2009 into Tami Nadu politics. After Jayalalithaa’s demise, currently no film star is heading any major political party.
Similarly, Andhra Pradesh, too, witnessed the dominance of film hero-turned-politician, the late N.T. Rama Rao founded TDP from 1983 to 1995. After his demise that year, many film personalities tried to fill the vacuum, but failed. Megastar Chiranjeevi made an entry into politics by founding his Praja Rajyam in 2009, but after failing to make his mark, merged his party with the Congress and became a Rajya Sabha.
There has been immense pressure on Rajinikanth from his politically active fans to fill up the political slot meant for film heroes in Tamil Nadu, especially after the sudden passing away of Jayalalithaa six months ago. The 66-year-old superstar is flooded with requests from his fans to plunge into politics at a time when Tamil Nadu politics is witnessing faction feuds and corruption charges.
So is the case with Pawan Kalyan, another Tollywood superstar in Andhra Pradesh. After the divided AP has become a battle ground for only two parties—TDP and YSR Congress—there has been clamour for a “third force” to take them on in the next elections. Pawan Kalyan, the 47-year-old younger brother of former Union minister Chiranjeevi, appears to be a reluctant player in politics as the two-year-old Jana Sena president.
However, Rajini, popularly called by his fans as “Thalaivar” (leader), has not made any announcements on his entry into politics, by simply saying that he would abide by God’s will on this issue. “If God wills me to join politics, I will,” he told a cheering crowd at the beginning of the meeting. The slogans that followed his remarks sounded like he has almost made up his mind on joining politics.
Rajinikanth has a huge fan following across all the southern states, including Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The 1,000 plus fans who queued up for a photo with their “Thalaivar” represented their local fans’ club or association. Though they are not officially invited for a photo session, a few fan club activists from Hyderabad have travelled to Chennai to get a glimpse of their matinee idol.
V. Chandrasekhar, who leads a Rajini fans’ association in Hyderabad and who went to the Chennai meeting, told The Sunday Guardian that “Thalaivar” was sure to enter politics by the next Lok Sabha elections. “We can understand that he is under pressure from different quarters, both for and against joining politics. He will take some more time to announce his final decision,” said Chandrasekhar.
Many of Rajinikanth’s fans in Chennai, too, are of the view that the superstar has almost made up his mind on joining politics and launching a new political party in Tamil Nadu, but he would take a few more months to declare the same. “After all, his next film with director Pa Ranjith (Kabali fame) is due to commence 28 May,” said Venu Dorai, another Rajini fan club activist from Chennai.
Pawan Kalyan, after months of hibernation, has begun recruiting cadre for Jana Sena through written tests and oral interviews. The recruitment began from Anantapur district and currently is underway in Srikakulam and Vizianagarm in AP and will be conducted in Hyderabad in Telangana next month.
Pawan Kalyan has been adopting a novel method of calling for applications for the posts of speakers (orators), content writers, field workers and analysts without any age restrictions and backgrounds.
In Anantapur district, around 3,000 people had applied for these posts, but only 160 of them were chosen by an eight-member selection team. “Most of them are in the age group of 20 to 40 years and all of them are well educated,” P. Hari Prasad, a selection committee member told this newspaper.
“All these people are driven by idealism and are angry with present day politics, where corruption and inefficiency are rampant. They will continue with their respective jobs and will work for the party in the given areas,” explained Hari Prasad who is currently monitoring the Jana Sena recruitment drive in Srikakulam.