Rajinikanth to take a call on his 'spiritual politics' approach soon

Superstar Rajinikanth, confined to his farm house at Kelambakkam on the outskirts of Chennai (where he is reportedly exercising and keeping himself fit for his usually energetic performances onscreen) has nothing tangible to do at present. With his forthcoming 'Annatthe' halted due to the coronavirus pandemic and his interactions with his fans virtually at a standstill, the matinee idol is now confabulating with his friends and wellwishers to strategise on the next moves with regard to his political career, says Dina Thanthi.

The 2021 elections are supposed to be a different one in a long time for the State as two top leaders of the Dravidian parties – J Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi - passed away in the last few years, leaving scope for national parties to make a mark in the local political arena.

The political temperature in Tamil Nadu has already begun increasing. It began with shadow boxing in the AIADMK camp two weeks ago when ministers owing allegiance to the Chief Minister E K Palaniswamy and the Deputy Chief Minister O Panneer Selvam respectively began flexing their muscles and came up with statements challenging each other.

The DMK, rattled by pro-Hindu social media critics who ripped its stand on the Hindu Gods has begun its majority appeasement politics. There were posters all over the State wishing the devotees a happy Ganesh Chaturthi, an act which it would never have taken up, given its atheist, rational background even a few years ago.

BJP is moving quickly by enabling many new faces to join the unit in the State, with a top cop K Annamalai as its prize catch. Already, a few of its leaders have been spreading their opinions that the fight is now between the saffron party and DMK, as the ruling party is likely to be its alliance partner.