Alagiri throws weight behind Rajini, says he will fill political vacuum in TN

PTI, Nov 15, 2019, 11:16 AM IST

Chennai: Coming out in support of superstar Rajinikanth, DMK chief Stalin’s estranged brother M K Alagiri on Thursday said there is a political vacuum in Tamil Nadu and the top actor will fill it by foraying into politics.

Alagiri, the elder brother of the Dravidian party president, however, declined to answer if he will join hands with the top actor if he launched a political party.

“What he says is true, that is all and what more can I say,” Alagiri told reporters at the airport here when asked to comment on Rajinikanth’s recent remark that there was a leadership vacuum in Tamil Nadu.

A perception is prevalent among some that a vacuum exists in politics after AIADMK stalwart J Jayalalithaa and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi died in 2016 and 2018 respectively.

Seeking to turn the tables on the top actor, Chief Minister K Palaniswami had days ago said he was only an actor and no political leader had aired such a view.

On who will fill the political vacuum, Alagiri, who was expelled from the DMK in 2014, said “Rajini will fill the vacuum for sure.”

The former Union Minister, however, said,”I don’t want to answer,” when asked if he will join Rajinikanth as and when the actor launched a political party.

Alagiri, a former union minister, was expelled from the party by his father and the then DMK president M Karunanidhi in 2014 at the height of the siblings’ tussle for supremacy.

The erstwhile DMK strongman of south Tamil Nadu, however, could not make a comeback despite signalling his intention to bury the hatchet with Stalin.

Except for his rare media comments, Alagiri leads a life of self-imposed political exile.