Rajini-Siders And Others

On December 3, when Rajinikanth confirmed his entry into the electoral fray in Tamil Nadu one of the two persons flanking him was Arjunamurthy, who till that morning was the secretary of the state BJP’s intellectual wing. He had faxed his resignation to the state BJP president before appearing in front of news cameras along with Rajinikanth at the star-politician’s Poes Garden home. Though many saw that as a confirmation of Rajinikanth’s BJP connection, Arjunamurthy is too much of a lightweight to make a difference to the superstar’s game plan. Many suspect he could be the BJP’s mole.

As political parties firm up their pre-poll strategies, they would also be eyeing inc­omers from other parties. The state BJP has already admitted defectors from the DMK, including a sitting MLA. The DMK has been roping in district-level leaders from the AIADMK and  Dhinakaran’s AMMK. But the real sponge for potential defectors this time could be Rajinikanth’s new party which he is likely to launch after January 15.

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Sidelined leaders of various parties, MGR loyalists in the AIADMK, those disenchanted with Udhayanidhi Stalin’s sudden rise in the DMK, and leaders denied tickets are likely to cross over. But Rajinikanth is expected to apply a strict filter for the new entrants—no taint of scams or criminal records. The arrival of defectors would also give the image of winnability to Rajinikanth’s fledgling party.

If Rajinikanth can attract one big-ticket defector from the AIADMK—like deputy CM O. Panneerselvam, who is feeling increasingly left out of the decision-making process in spite of being the party’s coordinator, then that could trigger a deluge of defections from the AIADMK and enormously weaken chief minister K. Palaniswami. That would create the necessary buzz around Rajinikanth’s party, leading to more allies lining up for an electoral arrangement.

By G.C. Shekhar in Chennai