What’s stalling Rajinikanth’s plunge into ‘spiritual politics’?

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HIGHLIGHTS
Rajinikanth is yet to unveil even the name of his party
On social media too, he’s just posted 11 tweets between January and now
Sometimes it is easy to be a superstar in filmdom. The worst that could happen is a film bombing at the box office. But politics is a different ball game. No wonder actor Rajinikanth dithered over two decades to say ‘yes’ to a political plunge.
More than 100 days after announcing his political intent + and branding it as “spiritual politics” on December 31, Rajinikanth is yet to unveil even the name of his party. This, when he expressed keenness for his party to contest the assembly election. “Let us focus on strengthening the fan club and making its presence felt in every street in the state. Until that time, there is no need for us to react to developments,” he had said.
“My fear is the media. Wherever I go they will push a microphone in front of me and ask me for my opinion,” Rajinikanth told reporters a week later, when he met to thank them. His rousing speech at a private university on March 5 raised expectations of the people to a different level, as he knew how to connect with the audience. But, he is yet to follow it up with another show.
He remained true to his character on social media too, with just 11 tweets between January and now. That included his condemning attack on police by protestors against IPL + , which got him more flak than support.
Is he really serious about his political entry, especially with the release of his ‘Kaala’ getting delayed due to the film industry strike, his mega-flick ‘2.0’ still in the docks and his next movie, to be produced by Sun TV, still on paper? “He is serious and is up to date with the current affairs and I think he is getting to launch his party in about two months,” said Congress leader Karate Thiagarajan, who met Rajinikanth on Sunday.
If Rajinikanth is serious, he is hardly making a show of it. Even this Monday he spent more than an hour interacting with his fans from the USA and appointed office bearers to his Rajini Makkal Mandram for that country, as he did in all the districts in Tamil Nadu over the past three months, said his associates.
Or is he hesitating to do politics against Narendra Modi? “I don’t think so. He had made it clear that his priority is to strengthen his fan base and enroll members and to launch the party in time for the assembly polls. He is working on that. May be the present political climate in the state is preventing him from doing that now and he may take his own time,” said BJP’s state general secretary Vanathi Srinivasan.
We may not hear from Rajinikanth yet. But, political analyst M Kasinathan feels that the actor is still in half a mind. “He evinces interest, but also goes underground. Politics cannot be done that way. One needs to be up-to-date and also ready to express opinions on developments. A politician must be heard,” said Kasinathan. “Both Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan must speak up. Or else people may think they do not have an opinion, leading to erosion of trust and faith,” he added.

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