CHENNAI: Indian film superstar Rajinikanth on Thursday became the latest in a long line of big-name actors to enter politics, vowing to bring in “corruption-free” government to his home state.
The action hero, one of Asia’s best-paid actors, said on Twitter that with “huge support from people” he would be launching a political party in January that is expected to contest elections scheduled in Tamil Nadu state next year.
The 69-year-old former bus conductor said the public wanted “honest, transparent, corruption-free, caste-less, secular and spiritual politics” in the state.
“Wonderful and amazing things will happen!” he added without stating explicitly that he would stand himself.
The actor enjoys a cult-like following across India where he is called “The Superstar” or “Thalaivar” (leader).
Every new film sends Tamil Nadu into a frenzy, with fans getting haircuts like his most recent character or having his face tattooed on their bodies.
Rajnikanth, who worked on buses in the southern city of Bangalore before moving into acting in 1973, proved his political muscle in 1996 when he called on fans to oppose the Tamil Nadu government, which was then voted out of power.
Rajinikanth said in 2017 that he wanted to enter politics to bring “change in Tamil Nadu.” His fans set off fireworks in celebration but have been waiting since for the formal moves.
He launched his own movement, Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM), which has since been putting in place the political launchpad for the film hero.
He has carried on making films and had health scares which led some to believe that he would give up his political ambitions.
Rajinikanth is following a well-worn path from the cinema into Indian politics.
Hindi star Sunny Deol is a member of parliament and another Tamil star, Kamal Haasan, formed his own party in 2018 but failed to win a seat in a national election last year.
Jaya Bachchan, the actor wife of Bollywood’s best-known star Amitabh Bachchan, has served four terms as a member of the Rjya Sabha upper house.
Comedy actor Govinda was a member of parliament from 2004 to 2009 and actress Rekha was a member of the Rajya Sabha parliament but stood down in 2018 following criticism of her attendance record.
Indian action hero Rajinikanth enters political fray
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Indian action hero Rajinikanth enters political fray
- Rajinikanth said in 2017 that he wanted to enter politics to bring “change in Tamil Nadu”
- Every new film sends Tamil Nadu into a frenzy, with fans getting haircuts like his most recent character
US military boards another oil tanker in Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean
- Venezuela has relied on a shadow fleet of falsely flagged tankers to smuggle crude into global supply chains
- The Veronica III left Venezuela on Jan. 3, the same day as Maduro’s capture, with nearly 2 million barrels of crude and fuel oil
WASHINGTON: US military forces boarded another sanctioned tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking the vessel from the Caribbean Sea in an effort to target illicit oil connected to Venezuela, the Pentagon said Sunday.
Venezuela had faced US sanctions on its oil for several years, relying on a shadow fleet of falsely flagged tankers to smuggle crude into global supply chains. President Donald Trump ordered a quarantine of sanctioned tankers in December to pressure then-President Nicolás Maduro before Maduro was apprehended in January during an American military operation.
Several tankers fled the Venezuelan coast in the wake of the raid, including the ship that was boarded in the Indian Ocean overnight. The Defense Department said in a post on X that US forces boarded the Veronica III, conducting “a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding.”
“The vessel tried to defy President Trump’s quarantine — hoping to slip away,” the Pentagon said. “We tracked it from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, closed the distance, and shut it down.”
Video posted by the Pentagon shows US troops boarding the tanker.
The Veronica III is a Panamanian-flagged vessel under US sanctions related to Iran, according to the website of the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The Veronica III left Venezuela on Jan. 3, the same day as Maduro’s capture, with nearly 2 million barrels of crude and fuel oil, TankerTrackers.com posted Sunday on X.
“Since 2023, she’s been involved with Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan oil,” the organization said.
Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com, told The Associated Press in January that his organization used satellite imagery and surface-level photos to document that at least 16 tankers left the Venezuelan coast in contravention of the quarantine.
The Trump administration has been seizing tankers as part of its broader efforts to take control of the Venezuela’s oil. The Pentagon did not say in the post whether the Veronica III was formally seized and placed under US control, and later told the AP in an email that it had no additional information to provide beyond that post.
Last week, the US military boarded a different tanker in the Indian Ocean, the Aquila II. The ship was being held while its ultimate fate was decided by the United States, according to a defense official who spoke last week on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing decision-making.
