Rajinikant's tactical help for NDA

MANDATE 2004/ 'Vajpayee govt alone can resolve water crisis'

Actor Rajinikanth here today announced that he would not ask his supporters to vote for any party in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. This puts an end to the suspense about his plans to support the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Lok Sabha elections.

Rajinikanth, however, asked his fans to vote for the BJP-AIADMK combine in the six constituencies in Tamil Nadu where Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) is contesting.

PMK leader S Ramadoss had earned the wrath of Rajanikanth and his fans for protesting against his recent movie Baba. PMK supporters also recently attacked Rajanikanth's fans in Madurai.

While he said his vote was for the NDA, he would not ask his followers and fans to follow the suit. He said people must think before casting their vote and refrain from voting on the basis of caste or community. He said the biggest issue facing the nation today was the lack of drinking water.

"The NDA government alone can give water for this nation and therefore my vote is for it," he said. He hailed the BJP for supporting the river-linking project, which he said was the only way to meet the demand for drinking water in the nation.

He said he had given a go-ahead to his fans to show their resistance to the PMK in a democratic fashion. He criticised the PMK leader for unleashing violence against his fans in Madurai.

"I praise the Tamil Nadu police and the state government for registering an 'attempted murder' case against Ramadoss. We will not spare him from this case," he said.

The actor said that by campaigning against the PMK in six constituencies and helping the AIADMK-BJP combine win the elections, he would ensure the safety of his fans and followers.

"I will like to make this very clear. For several reasons, I am not offering my support to any party in the forthcoming general elections. While the others (parties) were indecisive about the river-linking project, the NDA's election manifesto states that it will end the water crisis by completing this project," he said.

He said he had full confidence that the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government would complete this project and hence his vote was for the NDA.

As a token of his support Rajanikanth had offered Rs 1 crore to the government towards the river-linking project.