The Hindu Business Line : Rajnikant's vote is for `BJP-led alliance'

SUNDAY morning. Hundreds of young men were gathered outside a marriage hall in Kodambakkam. Some had climbed on to terraces of neighbouring buildings to get a better view. A few policemen were directing traffic, threatening to tow away parked vehicles.

They were all awaiting their idol, Rajnikant. They were expecting to hear whom he was going to support in the coming Parliamentary elections. To his supporters outside the marriage hall and to thousands elsewhere, his words would be holy writ. A hard-hitting announcement from the matinee idol was eagerly awaited not just by his supporters but also by political parties. The media had speculated for long as to which party or alliance Rajnikant would support, especially after the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), till recently a member of the ruling National Democratic Alliance at the Centre and now a part of the Democratic Progressive Alliance in Tamil Nadu that is opposed to the NDA, and its leadership had been critical of the actor.

Following a string of confrontations involving the PMK and the fans' clubs, Rajnikant had made it known that he would bare his heart to his supporters and, as promised. He did today.

He stopped short of supporting any political party or alliance, but minced no words while criticising the PMK and its leader, Dr S. Ramadoss. Rajnikant declared that he himself would vote for the BJP-led alliance, but said he would not ask his supporters to follow suit. He said his supporters were members of various political parties, and all that he would ask them was to think hard before they cast their vote.

The actor arrived a few minutes before eleven. His fans went wild with joy. Many gave vent to their emotions screaming "long live superstar!" Some could not articulate themselves but just screamed `Deivamae' (God), tears running down their cheeks. They surrounded his car; surged past the barricades; past the gates that gave way before the screaming tide.The private security guards and the few police personnel put up a stiff resistance but only managed to chase away a few stragglers before baring the gates. Rajnikant got out of the car hemmed in and jostled by his admirers, and rushed to a ground floor office room.

On the first floor were waiting over 200 journalists. If the air outside was electric, the atmosphere here, outwardly calm, was filled with suspense. Here was a man, whose opinion, many political commentators felt, could have a likely impact on the elections in the State, at least in a few seats, about to make an announcement.

Mr Rajnikant walked in; the calm broke.

Photographers, till then seated around a chair, tried to elbow closer to him. Reporters screamed for silence to be able to hear the man speak. Facing a battery of mikes, a posse of photographers and cameramen from satellite television channels, Rajnikant read out an eight-page statement; tracing the problems he and his fans had been having with the PMK.

He said: "Due to various reasons I will not support anyone in this elections."

"But my vote is for the BJP-led alliance. This does not mean that I expect my supporters to back the alliance. I do not wish to infringe on their voting rights."

His vote was for the BJP alliance, he said, because he was confident that they would tackle the water problem facing the country, particularly Tamil Nadu, he said.

Linking the national rivers alone could solve the problem and the NDA manifesto had clearly expressed plans to carry this project forward. The Deputy Prime Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, had assured him that the government would implement the project, he said.

On the confrontation with the Pattali Makkal Katchi, he said that in politics he was against corruption and violence. But Dr Ramadoss had repeatedly indulged in violence against his fans' club and supporters, and in Madurai assaulted his fans, he said.

Mr Rajnikant urged his fans not to demonstrate against the PMK but to show their opposition to the PMK through their votes. Having finished reading his statement, the actor left, without fielding any questions even as reporters screamed to be heard. It was meant to be a major political event and one satellite television channel even broadcast the press conference live.

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Rajnikant's vote is for `BJP-led alliance'