A Year On, Rajinikanth’s Fans Still Waiting For ‘Thalaiva’ To Lay Out Concrete Plans For His Political Party

A year after announcing his intention to enter politics, supporters of Rajinikanth are still waiting for their ‘Thalaiva’ to lay out a concrete plan and an ideology for his party, reports The Hindu.

The actor began the year 2018 with a bang after setting up the Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM) which would serve as a launch vehicle for his political party, on January 1 to bring his fans under one roof. He subsequently met the most influential political figures in Tamil Nadu at that time such as former DMK supremo M Karunanidhi and former AIADMK stalwart R M Veerappan all in the first week of the year.

He sent a team to tour the state and set up the structure of the party beginning with the lowest block in the party chain to the appointment of district secretaries, in the same month. The party structure had been created by April, and its cadre were given enrolment targets. The cadres worked over the next few months to deliver their objectives.

It was expected that Rajinikanth would launch his party by the end of the year, with the project going full steam, but the expectations did not materialise.

With the political project seemingly going full steam ahead, it was expected that Rajinikanth would launch his party by the end of the year. The actor's preference to contest primarily in the Assembly elections has delayed the launch of his party, leaving his cadres disappointed.

“The reaction has been mixed on the ground – a section of his fans feels he should launch the party because they are facing challenges on the ground. They are feeling the negativity. But ‘Thalaivar’ seems to be very clear that he won't contest the Lok Sabha election,” said an RMM office-bearer.