BJP MP Poonam Mahajan Tweets Pic with Rajinikanth, Fuels More Talk on His Political Entry

New Delhi: BJP youth leader Poonam Mahajan has tweeted a picture of her meeting with Rajinikanth in Chennai on Sunday adding further fuel to speculation on the Tamil superstar’s possible entry in politics.

Mahajan, the BJP Yuva Morcha’s president, tweeted several pictures on her visit to Rajnikanths’s home on Sunday night and captioned that Thalaiva – or chief as the superstar is popularly called – and his wife are among the most humble people she has ever met.

Mahajan later said the meeting was non-political. “I met Rajinikanth because we knew each other for a long time. My entire BJP team met him and it is always a pleasure meeting him. The meeting is personal," she told CNN-News18.

“He is the leader of the people and is in people’s hearts and that is the biggest place and space than anything else. He is the Thalaivar of the people," she added.

The actor’s possible plunge into politics has been doing the rounds for the past few months. He had earlier met representatives of several organisations, including the Hindu Makkal Katchi. Rajinikanth, however, has maintained that nothing about politics was discussed in the meetings.

The meetings have fuelled speculation that the Kabali superstar would soon join politics. He had told his fans to be “ready for war", adding that the "system is rotten" and needs to be changed.

His upcoming venture, Kaala, whose poster has Rajinikanth seated on a jeep with an eye-catching number plate: MH 01 BR 1956. The year 1956 was the year when architect of Indian Constitution and Dalit icon BR Ambedkar converted to Buddhism.

Several BJP leaders, including Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, have said the actor would be welcome in the party. “He is welcome in politics and it is my request to him to think about the BJP. There is an appropriate place for him in the BJP," the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways had told CNN-News18.

While DMK working president MK Stalin had said that it was Rajinikanth's wish "whether or not to join politics," others, including pro-Tamil leader Seeman, opposed it. All India Mahila Congress General Secretary and actress Nagma had said days before Rajini addressed his fans that the top star will be successful if he chose to come to politics.

The buzz triggered on Rajini’s possible political entry is reminiscent of the hysteria witnessed in 1996 when he openly defied J Jayalalithaa, asking people not to vote for her. The then hustings saw 'Amma' losing the assembly elections and the DMK-TMC registering a landslide victory.

Having had his run-ins with the powers that be in the past, the actor has come a long way from his first outburst in 1996 when he said "even God can't save Tamil Nadu" if AIADMK was elected again.

In the ensuing political developments, he backed the DMK-TMC (Tamil Maanila Congress, led by the late G.K. Moopanar) combine, which also cashed in on the severe anti-incumbency against the ruling AIADMK. However, the combine could not keep the momentum on as AIADMK staged a good comeback in the 1998 Parliamentary polls.

In the meantime, the actor continued to give some hints of a political entry in his film Baba (2002), which also saw Dr. S Ramadoss-founded PMK go up in arms against his on screen smoking. In the film, dealing with the protagonist's transformation from a carefree atheist to a believer, the plot details the actor's brush with a wily politician.

However, whenever his fans have been vocal or proactive about his political plunge, the actor has either remained silent or distanced himself away from the topic. Twice his supporters and actors have come out in the open floating some 'party' or 'outfit' in a bid to pressure Rajini, as he is fondly called, to enter politics.