MyVoice: Views of our readers 5th December 2020

Reality check for KCR

In spite of the ruling TRS employing its entire machinery and also upsetting the election routine by resorting to ballot boxes rather than EVMs , the TRS has got to admit that they have been served notice by the public to mend its ways.KCR is busy appeasing minorities and resorting to spend public money to pay obeisance to deities. He has been busy building flyovers instead of setting right the deeply flawed infrastructure of the city which contributes major share of the state's revenue. It is time KCR and his family mended their ways and try do something to the state's common man.

J Kannan, Hyderabad

Rajini finally says 'Yes'

The decision by the silver screen superstar Rajinikanth to establish a political party and be active in politics to serve the people is welcome. It is an undeniable fact that there exists a close relationship between film industry and politics. However, silver screen stardom is not enough in politics. The majority of the political analysts opine that establishing a new political party within six months before the state assembly elections and contesting in all the constituencies is preposterous. Rajinikanth had given an ambiguous indication of entering into politics in the year 2017.

Since then, his fans and followers have been in a dilemma as there was no clear indication of Rajini's involvement in active politics. Depending solely on the fan base may not yield good results. One should remember that veteran actor Sivaji Ganesan, who enjoyed an enormous fan base, had an unsuccessful political career. At present, Rajini has to build his party at the grassroots level. He may float the party with his tinsel image, but it might be a challenging task to match the organisational machinery of the Dravidian parties like DMK and AIADMK. He has to garner the votes of neutral franchises and the anti-incumbency votes to make his presence felt.

If he becomes the Chief Minister, he will be the sixth chief minister from the Tamil film industry after Annadurai, Karunanidhi, MGR, Janaki Ramachandran and Jayalalitha. Even if he doesn't become chief minister, it would be a great accomplishment, if Rajini can bring change in the common man's negative perception that politics is murky and they involve only mudslinging to positive. He has decided to be active in politics and bring some change to the routine murky politics. But, there should not be a large gap between his political aspirations and efforts. Let's wait and see whether Rajini can bring the wave of resurgence in the politics of Tamil Nadu.

Dr Mejari Mallikarjuna, Nadigadda, Sadum Mandal, Chittoor district

Rajinikanth launching a political party without a clear agenda will be a failure as proved in the instances of Shivaji Ganesan and Chiranjeevi unlike MGR and NTR, who proved successful as they were conscious of people's problems and solutions there of (Rajini party in Jan; to fight 2021 polls, December 4). Against such a backdrop and inview of his poor health, Rajinikanth should keep away from politics and preserve the already earned reputation. After all, one can very well serve the society without joining politics.

Kshirasagara Balaji Rao, Hyderabad

Stooge of the Sangh Parivar?

Superstar Rajinikanth has sprung a surprise by announcing his decision to float a party at the turn of the year. His foray into politics is significant in that it could redraw the political contours in Tamil Nadu. Rajinikanth has been phenomenally successful in the entertainment industry. From humble beginnings he has risen to become Thalaiva for his fans. The support of his fans for him borders on idolatry. His fan base is the sole solid asset he has to make it as a politician.

The seamless conversion of his fans' club into a viable political organization can turn out to be a daunting task. Many of his fans could already be members of other political parties; they may have their own ideological convictions; they may find it hard to transition into a new party for all their loyalty and devotion to their demi-god.

As an actor, Rajnikanth has scaled the heights of his profession and made a mark for himself with his inimitable style called 'Rajini style'. His heroics and histrionics on the screen have won him rapturous applause. But then politics is a different arena altogether and requires more than cinema-style gimmicks. Acting skills don't make leadership qualities. Reel life is vastly different from real life. An actor could be as clueless in the political sphere as a politician in the tinsel world. The distance between the realm of fantasy and the rough and tumble of politics remains as great as ever. Rajinikanth has to now demonstrate that he has it in him to travel the distance.

The biggest stumbling block for Rajinikanth's emergence as a widely acceptable leader and the 'translation' of his appeal as a film hero into votes is his identification with the Hindu Right. He has already been called out on his support for the right-wing Hindutva-oriented political forces. By his postures, he has earned the epithet 'a closet Sanghi' and displayed his credentials to be a natural ally of the BJP. His 'saffron politics' is what is couched in his 'spiritual politics'. His choice of a BJP hand – Arun Murthy – as the new party's coordinator is telling. It is not clear why he is launching a new party instead of joining the BJP.

Despite his claimed assimilation into the Tamil society he betrays an inability to cherish the Dravidian movement and its mores. He is a pygmy to counter the ideals of Periyar; he is only a stooge of the Sangh Parivar; he is unlikely to script a success story in Tamil Nadu politics; it would indeed take a miracle for him not to come a cropper in his tryst with politics.

G David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu