Will Kollywood icon Rajinikanth back his friend and colleague Kamal Haasan when voters head to the polls in Tamil Nadu on April 18? In the recent statement, Kamal Haasan said that he believed he would get his Apoorva Ragangal (1975) co-star's support. But today, Rajini said that it was as mentioned earlier and it remains unchanged and asked people not to "ruin" his friendship with the Makkal Needhi Maiam president. Rajinikanth has also welcomed the BJP's pledge to create a new ministry that will work to interlink rivers.

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In February 2019, Rajinikanth had mentioned that he or his party would not be contesting the Lok Sabha polls and that their party's aim would be the Tamil Nadu Assembly Polls that are slated for 2021. Tamil Nadu sends 39 MPs to the lower House of Parliament in a general election. Only four states -- Uttar Pradesh (80), Maharashtra (48), West Bengal (42), and Bihar (40) -- elect larger contingents of lawmakers.

Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam ("People's Justice Front") has named candidates for the Lok Sabha election, but he is not one of them. The polls in Tamil Nadu will feature a face-off between an AIADMK on one hand, and the DMK on the other. While the AIADMK has joined the NDA, its old rival is with the UPA. The AMMK, led by rebel AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran, has also emerged as a potent electoral force.

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