Rajini goes the MGR way?

The issue about Rajnikanth entering politics has been an unabated debate for about a decade and half. The superstar, as he is commonly referred to in the state of Tamil Nadu, has been at the top of the heap for over two and a half decades now.
Like MGR, Rajni, has used films remarkably well to send out one political message after another. His fans (and there are millions of them) have been kept guessing for a while. It all started in 1992 with the release of Annamalai and then with Muthu in 1995. Both were huge successes at the box - office. Muthu, where he plays the servant to the zamindaar, was released when Rajnikanth's tiff with the then Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa was said to be at its peak. Interestingly, till the early 1990s Rajnikanth's films were devoid of any kind of political reference
"I don't know when and how I would come. But I will definitely come at the right time," is one of his dialogues from Muthu. To most people, it was then certain that Rajnikanth would announce his political plans in time for the 1996 assembly elections. That did not take place though an incident of cataclysmic proportions in that election would ensure that the superstar was a huge force to reckon with.
A breakaway faction called the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) joined hands with the DMK to take on the AIADMKCongress combine. Rajnikanth threw his weight behind the TMC-DMK alliance. In what is now considered a defining moment in Tamil Nadu politics, the star exhorted the voter to support the TMCDMK combine and vote Jayalalithaa out of power. Not surprisingly, this was telecast on Sun TV, a channel promoted by the DMK and its associates. Jayalalithaa was annihilated in the 1996 elections with her party, the AIADMK winning just four seats in a house of 234. The lady herself was defeated.
It has been over 12 years since that election and Rajnikanth has still not made his plans clear. Whether he goes the MGR way by launching a party and then biding adieu to the tinsel world is still not clear. His fans continue to remain an expectant lot and think Rajnikanth will surely take the political plunge. By the looks of it, this is one story that is being watched closely in Tamil Nadu's political circles.