CHENNAI: Rajinikanth may have turned his back on electoral politics, but for his fans and supporters, crestfallen after his December 29 decision, a political career could still be on the horizon.
Over the past week, many long-time fans of the actor have received offers from virtually every party in the Tamil Nadu, the DMK being the notable exception.
Rajini, who had teased his political interest for nearly 30 years, announced that the prevailing pandemic and his health condition had forced him to withdraw from the fray even before launching his party.
Just days after the announcement, nearly 100 members of his Rajini Makkal Mandram joined the ruling AIADMK in the presence of former minister and AIADMK Tiruvallur East district secretary Madhavaram Moorthi at Sengundram in the district. Other parties, with the BJP in the lead, have posted open invitations to Rajini fans to join the outfits.
In Madurai, A Paul Joseph, State general secretary of the Congress’ social media wing, went a step further, having posters pasted across the district inviting the fans to join the national party. "I had the posters pasted across Madurai and neighbouring districts and circulated in social media. Soon after, I received over a hundred calls from various RMM functionaries from in and around Madurai. They were happy that I had made the invitation in a decent way, unlike others who have criticised them for their leader’s U-turn," he said.
At the time, most said they wanted to discuss with other cadres before taking a decision as many still held hopes that Rajini would reconsider his decision, Joseph said. "But now the decks are cleared and I expect many of them to join our party soon," he said.
Such are the offers coming their way that even fans have made light of the situation, some of them posting a meme on Twitter poking fun at how various parties are trying to pull the fans to them.
While fans at a Chennai agitation, a last-ditch effort to convince Rajini, may have said they were not interested in any other party, for those seeking opportunities there may be options aplenty.