Politicos queue up to seek Rajini fan votes

In Tamil Nadu, the mighty fans' associations have always been a lucrative vote bank. This time, the fans are keeping the political players guessing even though some of their idols have pledged support to political parties.

After actor Vijayakanth with a 10% vote bank aligned with the AIADMK, the race has begun to grab the next big bank of voters — fans of superstar Rajnikanth.

Deputy chief minister M K Stalin called on actor Rajnikanth a few days back and sought his blessings, raising quite a few eyebrows. But soon, when candidates made a beeline for the star's house, it was apparent that they were eying superstar's fans.

Days after Stalin's meeting with Rajni, newcomer Hasan Mohammed Jinnah, the DMK candidate for Thousand Lights, followed suit. M Shivalingam, the BJP candidate for the same constituency, and DMK South Chennai district secretary J Anbazhagan, too, made their way to the actor's house.

M Anand, an ardent fan of Rajinikanth and secretary of the Tiruvallur Mavatta Thalaivar Mandram, said: ''Many of them are hoping that by meeting Thalaivar, they might gain the right kind of publicity and votes.'' With over five lakh members in Rajini's fan club in TN, politicians might be heading in the right direction. But the actor, who voiced his support for DMK-TMC combine in 1996 and for AIADMK-BJP in 2001 has maintained silence this time.