Chennai: DMK president M K Stalin and top Kollywood stars Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan are among the invitees for the May 30 swearing-in of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister for his second term, according to reliable sources here. While the DMK will be represented by senior MPs, T R Baalu and A Raja, the two stars are yet to respond to the invitation.
In drawing up the guest list for ceremony that's being prepared to reflect the saffron joy as much as the formal status of being the crowning of the world's largest democracy's mightiest personality, the PMO has followed not just political exigencies but also etiquette stretched beyond personal likes and dislikes of the star of the show.
DMK chief was competing hard throughout the poll campaign and afterwards to get the better of the other opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee, to slam Modi at every possible opportunity. Not just that, in proposing Rahul as the Prime Ministerial candidate of the UPA-plus, Stalin also tried best to create a challenger to the saffron candidate.
It was to the undoing of the Mahagathbanthan that other leaders in it would not accept Stalin's proposal and a few even in the Congress party advocated waiting till the votes were counted before electing their PM.
In the process, these crabs in the basket succeeded in scaring the voter away from their poll symbols as they presented a divided house devoid of a PM face to spend the precious vote on.
Being among the first to receive the invitation for the swearing-in, obviously by virtue of leading the party that has the third largest contingent of MPs in the Lok Sabha, Stalin has reportedly nominated former ministers T R Baalu and A Raja to represent him and the DMK at the May 30 ceremony.
Superstar Rajinikanth has for long been a fan and friend of Modi, brought together by the late Tughlak editor, Cho, who had spent much time and energies prodding the former to get into politics. The actor announced in December 2017, exactly a year after his guru, Cho, died, that he would take the political plunge. By then, many of his fans had given up on his political avatar though some interest has been triggered again by his announcement he would start his party in time for the state Assembly elections. Diehard Rajini fans will still keep their fingers crossed and hope he would keep that 'latest' promise.
In any case, Rajini has got invite for the swearing-in; possibly because he's been a good friend, probably because he could be a future ally in TN's political quicksand.
Kamal stands at the opposite pole in terms of personal acceptability for the saffron brigade and its second-term PM. He has been a constant critic of them all and particularly took great pride in holding them guilty of divisive politics wherein the minorities felt terribly unsafe. His comment that the first terrorist in post-independent India was a Hindu and his name was Nathuram Godse, had caused political and social turbulence nationwide, drawing even PM Modi to hit back.
And yet if the Makkal Needhi Maiam chief has got the invite for the swearing-in, that could either be a reflect of inclusivity and generosity in the PMO's emergent political etiquette, or acknowledgement of the impressive performance of the party in the recent elections - it scored 3.72 per cent of the total 4.24 crore votes polled contesting in 36 LS constituencies.
