'Rajinikanth is a good person'

'He has to listen to his body and his mind and he decided to leave politics.'

Impressed by his eloquence, the late Congress leader K Kamaraj called him 'Tamilaruvi'. Aruvi means spring in Tamil.

Tamilaruvi Manian, a former Congressman and lawyer, was the founder of the Gandhi Makkal Iyakkam. He has now changed the Gandhi Makkal Iyakkam to Kamaraj Makkal Katchi, a political party.

When Rajinikanth decided to launch a political party he asked Tamilaruvi Manian to organise the party. The movie superstar's political plans did not take off because of Rajinikanth's ill-health.

On Monday, August 7, 2022, Tamil Nadu's political circles were agog with speculation after Rajinikanth met state Governor Ravindra Narayan Ravi -- with who the DMK government has been engaged in recent skirmishes -- a day after returning from New Delhi.

'Yes, we discussed politics and several things which can't be revealed to you,' Rajinikanth told reporters when asked if politics was discussed during his meeting with Ravi.

"Rajinikanth wanted to establish good governance," Tamilaruvi Manian, who has been in Tamil Nadu politics for 40 years, tells Rediff.com'sA Ganesh Nadar.

You were going to organise the party for Rajinikanth. How exactly were you going to organise a party from scratch?

When I first spoke to Rajinikanth about this, he told me that the system is spoilt; we have to change the system.

He wanted to start a political party to change the entire system.

To organise the party I decided to first form booth committees. Tamil Nadu has 234 constituencies and each has 300 booths. Forming booth committees is very important.

Both the DMK and the AIADMK have it and no other party has it.

He wanted 20 members in every booth committee and I decided that 10 members were enough. We formed booth committees all over the state.

While other parties used these committees only during the elections, we decided that our committees would be active throughout the year to serve the people.

What difference do you think Rajinikanth could have made to the assembly elections in 2021?

We would have won it and formed the government.

His decision to throw in the towel, quit electoral politics must have come as a shock to you.

We worked for three years. I was shocked, but his health was weak.

There was the Covid pandemic; he has a kidney problem so he has less immunity.

He has to listen to his body and his mind and he decided to leave politics. We were all shocked.

Was he under pressure from other parties not to join politics, lest the votes get split?

No! Not to my knowledge.

He sounded quite politically naive with his utterances. Was he really naive?

Rajinikanth is a good person. He wanted to establish good governance. For that, he wanted honest and experienced people from all sectors included IAS and IPS officers.

He had teased his followers for such a long time about his political entry. Who do you think they ended up supporting in the elections? The BJP?

Rajinikanth fans liked to watch his movies and loved him as their hero. Members of his fan clubs belonged to all political parties.

His fans were voting for different parties and they must have continued to do so.

The BJP has 4 MLAs in Tamil Nadu. Where do you see the BJP in the future in Tamil Nadu?

It is a fantasy that they will grow in Tamil Nadu. They have no chance without an alliance.

It is doubtful that they would have won even these 4 if they had stood on their own.

They have only a 3% vote share. They cannot go far here in Tamil Nadu politics.

Will the growth of the BJP in Tamil Nadu be at the expense of the AIADMK?

It is possible if the EPS, OPS, and Sasikala problems continue.

The cadre will be upset and the BJP will try to get them to join their party.

Will the BJP find an Eknath Shinde in Tamil Nadu?

Never! The DMK is a strong integrated party. It is not easy to disturb such a party.

Except for the DMK and AIADMK other parties have not been able to grow in Tamil Nadu. Why?

The DMK started in 1949. They drew on the strength of Periyar and the Justice Party before that.

In 1967 they were able to win the elections on oratory and hard work. Their focus on the Tamil language helped the DMK grow.

Annadurai attracted the city voter and the village voter was attracted by MGR.

The women voters were also with MGR and then with Jayalalitha.

You must keep in mind that there are 50% women voters.

The DMK has been growing in the cities and the AIADMK has been growing in the villages.

Other parties did not have such charismatic leaders.

You have known Kamaraj rule and the rule of Dravidian governments. What is the difference you have seen?

There was no corruption during Kamaraj rule. The government worked for the welfare of the people.

Even today 'Good Governance' means Kamaraj rule. Kamaraj worked for the people.

Now it is only corruption. They are working either for themselves or for their family.

Do you feel that there is any difference in the governments led by the DMK and the AIADMK?

There is no difference in governance. But as a party, the DMK has an ideology. The AIADMK is a personality-oriented party.

With Karunanidhi on one side and MGR followed by Jayalalitha on the other side, it was a battle of equals. What chance do you think EPS (former TN CM Edappadi Palaniswamy) has against Stalin (the TN CM)?

Karunanidhi was a strong leader, MGR and Jayalalitha had charisma, they too were very strong leaders.

Karunanidhi has trained Stalin for years. He has learned from his father and is following in his footsteps in governance.

There is no EPS versus Stalin now. It is EPS versus OPS (former TN CM O Panneerselvam) versus Sasikala. They are bent on destroying the party.

What do you plan to achieve with your Kamaraj Makkal Katchi?

In Tamil Nadu, there is a habit of cash for votes. We want to change that.

We want a corruption-free government. For this, we are going to make an example of Kamaraj rule.

The younger generation does not know about Kamaraj rule. We are going to every village with this message.

Kamaraj emphasised education and agriculture. He built so many dams.

A corruption-free government is possible only if we can establish Kamaraj rule.

Will you be standing for elections? Will you be allying with other parties?

We have to first establish our party. We have to get people to join our party.

We already have 300,000 members and we are aiming for 1 million members.

We will think of elections after that. Other parties who support the idea of 'Kamaraj rule' can join us.

If your party stands for elections, can we expect Rajinikanth to support you? Are you still in touch with him?

We continue to be friends today. I told him when I changed our Gandhi Makkal Iyakkam to Kamaraj Makkal Katchi.

I cannot comment on whether he will support us when we stand for elections now.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com