Leveraging the popularity of cinema stars in Tamil Nadu looks to be a priority for BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, going by his recent bonhomie with celebrities from the tinsel world.
While on Sunday, Mr. Modi hit the headlines following his tete-a-tete with ‘Superstar’ Rajinikanth, on Wednesday, actor Vijay called on the Gujarat Chief Minister in Coimbatore.
BJP sources said, at the meeting, which the Twitter account of Mr. Vijay described as ‘non-political’, Mr. Modi enquired after the actor’s recent and upcoming film projects.
Mr. Vijay expressed his appreciation for the work Mr. Modi had done in Gujarat and wished him luck in the upcoming elections, said sources.
Like his meeting with Mr. Rajinikanth, his interaction on Wednesday too resulted in a tsunami of activity online, with pictures of them together flooding Facebook and Twitter.
In fact, Mr. Modi himself tweeted a picture of them chatting, which was then retweeted by more than 1,100 persons, within an hour.
A BJP leader said, while other parties in Tamil Nadu were using small-time celebrities to campaign for them, Mr. Modi had struck the right chord with people of the State by meeting the ‘stars who matter’.
“Mr. Vijay has a huge following. We are certainly happy about the meeting,” said the senior leader.
In fact, meeting the ‘bigger stars’ has been Mr. Modi’s style. In January, he flew kites with Bollywood superstar Salman Khan.
Mr. Vijay too seems to be inclined to meeting important leaders of political parties. In 2009, Mr. Vijay met Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who apparently extended an invitation to the actor to join the party. But the idea failed to progress.
