While the meeting set off speculation about a possible political arrangement, both sides refused to comment. Stalin said he had called on the superstar to seek his blessings. Both sides exchanged shawls during the 15-minute meeting. Stalin is contesting the election from Kolathur, a constituency in outer Chennai.
Rajinikanth has kept both the key political parties in the state, the DMK and the AIADMK, at a distance.
The various parties in the fray have completed their arrangements for the sharing of the state’s 234 sears. The DMK is contesting 119 constituencies and has allocated 63 seats to Congress and 30 to the PMK. The party has also allocated the remaining 22 seats to various caste outfits.
AIADMK is contesting 160 seats while its ally, Vijayakant’s DMDK, has 41 seats. The remaining seats have been allocated to CPI, CPI(M), Puthiya Tamizhakam, and MMK.
AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa is contesting from Srirangam, a part of the Trichy Lok Sabha constituency. She will launch her campaign fromSrirangam Temple on Thursday. Her arch-rival, Muthuvel Karunanidhi, is also launching his campaign on the same day, reportedly on astrological advice.
Karunanidhi is contesting from Tiruvarur, 350 km away from Chennai. He contested the previous election from Chepauk, Chennai. Karunanidhi, along with Stalin and senior party leader K Ambazhagan, have shifted to rural and suburban constituencies for fear of a backlash from urban voters who, the DMK fears, have not taken kindly to the second generation mobile telephony spectrumscam.
Karunanidhi will not be able to campaign as intensively as he used to do because of age and infirmity.His motorcade comprising custom built SUVs are on their way to Tiruvaur for the DMK patriarch to file nomination papers for a shot at his last hurrah.
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