BJP speaks in two voices on roping in Rajinikanth

Chennai: The BJP appears to speak in divergent voices with regard to superstar Rajinikanth taking a plunge into politics.

The saffron party’s state president Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan said that her party was not averse to the actor joining the BJP. “He is a close friend of our PM Narendra Modiji and he had already supported the ambitious river linking project. We are ready to welcome him,” she said.

However, party senior and national executive member L. Ganesan said that in his opinion, Rajinikanth might never enter politics. Mr Ganesan’s remarks assume significance as a section of the media has been claiming that the BJP is attempting to rope in the superstar ahead of the 2016 assembly elections.

Interestingly, even when the BJP’s ‘star’ campaigner — Narendra Modi —  called on the superstar in the run up to the April LS elections, it was widely speculated that Rajini would campaign for the BJP.

Prior to this, during the Tiruchi Yuva conference of the BJP, a section of the party’s leaders extended an open invitation to the actor to join the party and support Mr Modi in a desperate bid to gain political mileage from his presence in their midst.

Mr Ganesan had said in Erode that Rajinikanth was his friend, too, and that “he had many nationalistic thoughts. Rajini is on friendly terms with senior BJP leaders. Personally, I don’t think he will enter politics. Let’s not embarrass him by asking him about it quite often,” he remarked.

“Rajinikanth’s support will augur well for the BJP in the 2016 polls,” Dr Tamilisai told reporters before addressing party secretaries from 10 northern districts, post local body byelections at Kamalalayam, party state headquarters here on Saturday.