Rajinikanth may make his political debut in the assembly polls scheduled next year in Tamil Nadu, with ‘autorickshaw’ as the election symbol for his party. The superstar had said that the name of the party and other details would be revealed by him on December 31. While it is not official yet, the Election Commission has reportedly allotted the ‘autorickshaw’ symbol to a newly registered but unrecognised party called Makkal Sevai Katchi (MSK). The application had mentioned Rajinikanth’s name and hence the rumours that this may actually be the superstar’s political party.
Rajinikanth played an autorickshaw driver in his 1995 blockbuster, Baasha, and he has, therefore, likely gone for the symbol as it will have a recall value for people. Even after 25 years, the Tamil superstar’s Manickam character from the film remains admired by his fans. Every Aayudha pooja festival, auto-rickshaw drivers across the state are often seen playing Rajinikanth’s iconic ‘Naan autokaran’ song from the film.
According to sources, the applicant, who has registered the party, is a senior functionary of Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM). The registration process may have been done in another person’s name on the instructions of Rajinikanth. The applicant’s details are not known either. Rajinikanth’s party was first registered under the name of Anaithindhiya Makkal Shakthi Kazhagam. The actor had then sought his signature two-finger pose, which became famous after his 2002 flop, Baba, as the party symbol. However, the EC rejected that symbol since it bore a resemblance to the Congress’ hand symbol.