Rajinikanth not to contest Lok Sabha polls

Chennai: Ending months of speculation, Tamil superstar Rajinikanth, who floated his outfit the Rajini Makkal Mandram as a precursor to launching a political party, Sunday made it clear he would neither contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls nor support any party.

He appealed to the people of Tamil Nadu to vote for a party who they believed would be able to bring a permanent solution to the water crisis in the state.

“I am not contesting in the forthcoming Parliamentary elections. Our target is only the Assembly polls. I am not supporting anyone and no one should use my picture or outfit’s flag for political campaign purposes,” he said.

“Rajini Makkal Mandram has no support to any party in the upcoming Parliamentary elections. No one should use my photograph or the flags of the Rajini Makkal Mandram for campaigning,” the actor said in a statement.

The actor had a brief interaction with the district secretaries of Rajini Makkal Mandram on Sunday at his Poes Garden residence here, sources said.

Pictures shared on social media platforms showed the actor, clad in a white kurta, interacting with the district secretaries. Later, he also seen posing for group photograph with them.

Rajinikanth, who turned 69 in December 2018, had announced his political entry on December 31, 2017 while interacting with his fans here.

He had then said his to-be-launched political party will contest in all the 234 assembly segments in Tamil Nadu during the next polls, due in 2021.