Khushbu Sundar has also held parties in the past (File)
Chennai:
Popular southern actress turned politician Khushbu Sundar will likely join the BJP. She has been in Congress for nearly six years since 2014. While she had recently denied such reports, she chose a “no comment” response on Sunday as she took off for Delhi. To a specific question if she is still in Congress, Ms. Sundar replied: “I don’t want to say anything”. With Congress out of power since 2014, his political career chart has looked a bit stunted lately.
If this is true, it would be clear that the BJP is preparing it for the 2021 assembly elections to break new ground in Tamil Nadu, an elusive state for the party.
The popular star has skipped parties in the past. She had joined the DMK in 2010 when DMK was in power, especially after taking on the role of the late wife of rationalist leader Periyar, Maniammai, in a biopic largely funded by the government of Tamil Nadu. At that point, she said, “I think I made the right decision. I love serving people. I want to work for the good of women.”
However, four years later, when she left the Dravidian party, she said: “The hard work of the DMK had been a one-way street.” The same year in 2014, she joined the Congress after meeting Sonia Gandhi. The actor then declared: “I finally feel at home. Congress is the only party that can do good for the Indian people and unite the country.” But Ms. Sundar did not receive a ticket to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls that the DMK-Congress alliance swept across the state, nor was she chosen for the upper house.
The popularity she enjoyed was such that when she was a star, fans even built a temple in her honor. But she faced fierce criticism and protests for her comments on chastity. Eight months away from elections in the state of Tamil Nadu, the BJP, with its limited reach in the state, could see Ms. Sundar’s star power as a trap. The party does not yet have a charismatic leader in the state.
It also comes at a time when the ruling AIADMK is uncomfortable continuing its alliance with the BJP after its collapse in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and speculation that the national party may tacitly support superstar Rajinikanth. , who is likely to launch his party before the polls.
