"I have no plans of entering politics in future," said Rajinikanth, 70.
Superstar Rajinikanth stressed today he had no plans of entering politics and dissolved his outfit Rajini Makkal Mandram, effectively closing that chapter.
The announcement followed his meeting with members of his forum to discuss its future.
"I have no plans of entering politics in future," said Rajinikanth, 70.
The Rajini Makkal Mandram will be dissolved and will morph into "Rajinikanth Rasigar Narpani Mandram" or the Rajinikanth Fans Welfare Forum.
Before the meeting, Rajinikanth had told reporters that several lingering questions on the future of his political forum and his political entry would be discussed.
The actor said he would "discuss whether I should enter politics or not."
"There is a question of if I am coming to politics or not in the future. I will discuss all these and share with you," he told reporters.
"I could not meet functionaries earlier because of Covid, polls and the shoot and a medical check-up in the US."
The 70-year-old, on the verge of launching his political party after years of "Will He, Won't he", announced in December that he would not join politics after all. He cited health concerns ahead of the Tamil Nadu election held in the middle of the Covid crisis.
After he was hospitalized briefly for blood pressure fluctuations following a film shoot where crew members were infected with Covid, the actor had said in a statement: "With extreme sadness I say that I can't enter politics. I alone know the pain I went through while announcing this decision. Without entering electoral politics, I will serve the people. This decision of mine will disappoint my fans and people but please forgive me."
As crestfallen fans kept pressing Rajinikanth to rethink that decision, with many putting up posters and staging protests, he appealed to them to stop and "not pain me again and again".
Rajinikanth's political party, many believe, would have impacted the outcome of the April-May Tamil Nadu elections. Even after Rajinikanth dropped his political plans, some in the BJP favoured reaching out to him for his support.
The AIADMK, which had a tie-up with the BJP, lost the election and the MK Stalin-led DMK took power after a 10-year gap.
Though the veteran actor is untested in politics so far, he arguably inflicted immense damage on the ruling AIADMK in the 1996 polls with just one comment: "If Jayalalithaa is voted back to power, even God cannot save Tamil Nadu."
