Rajinikanth congratulates ex-aide Arjunamurthy for starting party ahead of TN elections

In the latest development, Kollywood superstar Rajinikanth congratulated his aide Arjunamurthy for beginning his own political party ahead of Assembly polls in the state. Arjunamurthy, who previously headed the Tamil Nadu BJP intellectual wing, was named chief coordinator of Rajini Makkal Mandram before 'Thalaivar' decided to withdraw from taking the political plunge. Writing a letter to Arjunamurthy, Rajinikanth congratulated his aide for establishing a political party and wished him luck for the upcoming polls. 

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Earlier in January, Arjunamurthy said that for the benefit of the people of Tamil Nadu, he is launching a party and added that it will be better than being an independent candidate. He had earlier said that he will make Rajinikanth’s political dreams come true. Intimating that he would attempt to tread a similar path to what the Superstar would have, Arjunamurthy, nonetheless, clarified that he wouldn't use Rajini as a symbol of his political foray, but that he was 'bowing to his feet' for his blessing and that he'd make the actor's dreams come true. Arjunamurthy had also revealed that he had joined BJP on the advice of Dr. Subramanian Swamy to serve the public and that he had achieved a lot in the saffron party before he joined Rajinikanth. Further, he had said that he had been asked by TN BJP chief L Murugan to return to the party fold but conveyed his decision to stay by Rajinikanth. 

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Rajinikanth's political plunge aborted

Rajinikanth on December 29 took to Twitter and announced that he will not start his political party, due to his health condition. He was admitted to the Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad due to fluctuating blood pressure and exhaustion and was discharged after two days. The actor said that he will do whatever he can for the public and apologised to his supporters. This came just ahead of his December 31 announcement about a new party that would contest the upcoming Tamil Nadu polls.  Soon after his exit, Tamilaruvi Manian, who was supervisor of the party's formation, said that he has given up politics for good. However, he made a U-turn soon and said that he has 'reconsidered' his decision to leave politics at the behest of his followers and had decided to take the plunge again.

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Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2021

The two warring factions in AIADMK - of Deputy CM O Pannerselvam (OPS) and CM E Palaniswamy (EPS), reconciled after the party named incumbent E Palaniswamy as its CM candidate and O Panneerselvam as the chief of the 11-member steering committee. With AIADMK announcing it will continue its national alliance with BJP, the saffron party is yet to officially announce its state-level alliance. Meanwhile, ex-CM Karunanidhi's successor - DMK chief MK Stalin eyes his maiden CM term as DMK cannot afford to lose a third straight Assembly election after sweeping the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with 38 seats. Kamal Haasan's MNM has initiated alliance talks with Arvind Kejriwal's AAP while AIMIM's Owaisi has also expressed interest to fight polls in the southern state. Erstwhile AIADMK ally Samathuva Makkal Katchi, headed by actor R Sarathkumar, joined hands with joins hands with SRM Group Paarivendhar's Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi to fight the upcoming polls.

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