Amidst ongoing political turmoil in Tamil Nadu, megastar Rajinikanth on Sunday announced his entry into politics and said that he would float his own party to fight the next Assembly polls.
“I will be floating my own party and contest elections in all 234 seats in Tamil Nadu. I did not have political ambitions when I was 45, so will I have it when I’m 68. I am not doing this for any post. But the politics has become so bad that rest of the world is laughing at us,” he said at a fans’ meet-and-greet in Chennai.
He added that the last year events in the state politics had shamed people of Tamil Nadu. “The government has to be changed, system has to be changed. I know this is not going to be easy. I can do this only with the trust and support of the people,” said the Thailavar at the end of six-day meet with his supporters at Sri Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam hall.
“Democracy is in bad shape right now and all other states have been making fun of us. I will feel guilty if I don’t take this decision now,” he added.
Rajinikanth, who enjoys a demigod-like status in the state, had on December 26 said that he would “reveal” his political ambitions in December 31.
His statement added fuel to the ongoing political fire in the state which has witnessed turbulence ever since the demise of former Chief Minister J Jayalalitha.
The possibility of Rajinikanth’s political entry had been doing the rounds for two decades, but the superstar only recently gave strong hints that he was ready to take the plunge.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which got fewer votes than NOTA in the RK Nagar by-poll was anxiously wooing the superstar hoping to piggyback on his popularity to make a grand entry in the state.
Alas, the veteran actor had other plans much to the disappointment of the BJP.