Rajnikant may become BJP's hero in Tamil Nadu

In Tamil Nadu, a state where the politics of celluloid is sometimes undistinguishable from electoral politics, Tamil matinee idol Rajnikanth has once again begun to make waves.

Although Rajnikanth has once again opted to stay out of the forthcoming general elections by not claiming allegiance to any party, his fan club (Manram) has openly proclaimed that it will ask its members to campaign against the Patali Makkal Katchi (PMK). This will help the ADMK-BJP alliance significantly.

PMK leader Ramadoss has, on more than one occasion, managed to earn the ire of Rajinikanth's fans. The first time was just before the release of the star's latest film, Baba, when Ramadoss made caustic remarks about Rajnikanth smoking on screen. Rajnikanth and his fans issued warnings and announced that when the elections came around, Ramdoss would be made to pay the price for his statements.

This sounded like a ridiculous reason to start a political movement against the PMK. But in Tamil Nadu politics, this was the opportunity Manrams were waiting for.

Rajnikanth is a Maharashtrian from Thajavur (called a Saurashtrian, in these parts). So speaking out against the PMK cost him nothing. In this case, BJP leader Cho Ramaswamy is believed to have worked on him to provide indirect support to the BJP alliance.

The PMK is a significant force in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu and is dominated by working class in the agriculture sector.

After having built up a vote bank by leading the Vanniar struggle for the Most Backward Classes in the late 1980s, Dr. Ramadoss, made PMK a key player in the northern districts, taking advantage of the rivalry between the DMK and the AIADMK.

Although Vanniars constitute more than one-third of the population in the northern districts, the PMK support base does not on an average extend much beyond 10 per cent.

But this is enough to make the difference between victory and defeat for the DMK and the AIADMK in nearly 60 constituencies. The PMK derives its advantage as an ally from this situation.

It had five MPs in the dissolved Lok Sabha. Political observers believe that the ire of Rajnikanth fans would have a direct impact on the fortunes of DMK-PMK.

Noted columnist and convener of Swadeshi Jagran Manch, S Gurumurthy said, "DMK-PMK alliance will take a direct hit due to this. The question now is what others will do to help in this situation."

He added that any public statement made against the Rajnikanth fans' decision to campaign against PMK would antagonise Rajnikanth fans all over the state.

The PMK is contesting from six constituencies, five in Tamil Nadu and from the Pondicherry constituency. It is also known for switching alliances in every Lok Sabha election in which they have contested. In no two consecutive elections, has the PMK aligned with the same front.