(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Tamil superstar Rajinikanth yesterday accused political parties of 'looting the people, and said he would launch a new party that will pursue 'spiritual politics.
He also vowed to contest the next Tamil Nadu Assembly election.
After years of will-he-won't-he uncertainty, the 68-year-old bus conductor-turned-heartthrob of Tamil cinema told cheering supporters in Chennai that his decision was a 'compulsion of time.
He said politics in the country had gone 'very wrong, and added: 'Under the guise of democracy, political parties are looting their own people.
Such a system, he said needed to be changed.
He said his party - the hugely popular actor did not name it - would not contest the upcoming local body elections due to lack of time to prepare but would field candidates in all the 234 assembly seats in 2021.
A decision on the 2019 Lok Sabha polls would be taken at an appropriate time, he said.
In a clear attack on Tamil Nadu's ruling All India Anna Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Rajinikanth said developments in the past one year since the death of chief minister J Jayalalithaa had made the state a laughing stock.
He urged his legion of fans not to talk about politics or comment about other parties till his party was floated.
Born into a humble Maratha family as Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, Rajini - as Rajinikanth is popularly known - became a bus conductor after doing odd jobs as a coolie and carpenter.
Once he joined the Tamil film industry there was no looking back.
Tamil Nadu warmly embraced him, never seeing him as an 'outsider, and Rajinikanth became an icon in Tamil film industry, his movies running to packed houses.
The Rs260mn deal he signed for the movie Sivaji (2007) then made him the highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan.
Yesterday, Rajinikanth said his first task would be to get many of his unregistered fan clubs affiliated with the parent body.
He underlined that he was not getting into politics for the greed of power.
He was not interested in political power when he was 45 and, so, there was no question of having the desire now when he is nearing 70.
Rajinikanth admitted that in a state with a plethora of political parties, it would be no easy task to float a new party and face the voters.It is like taking a pearl from the deep sea.
He promised that his party, if elected to power, would resign if it was not able to fulfil the electoral promises within three years of forming a government.
Advising his fans to 'think good, talk good and do good, Rajinikanth said his party's philosophy would be 'Truth, Work and Growth.
He said he was confident of getting people's support as he represented the common man.
For years, Rajinikanth has been asked repeatedly if he would take to politics.
At one time he supported the Congress but backed out when it aligned with the AIADMK.
He then backed a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-Trinamool Congress alliance which won.
He also lent his support to the Anna Hazare campaign against corruption in 2011.
The winner of several film awards as well as Padma Bhushan (2000) and Padma Vibhushan (2016), Rajinikanth is known for his philanthropic activities and spiritual pursuit.
The son of a former police constable and a father of two grown up daughters, Rajinikanth joins the long list of Tamil actors who have taken to politics - some very successfully at that.
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