BJP 'losing influence', says Rajinikanth on poll outcome

New Delhi, Dec 11: On a day that the elections in five assembly are sounding the alarm bells for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, actor and politician Rajinikanth said that the party is losing its influence.

The electoral reverses for the saffron party are also a "setback" for it, he said.

Reacting to the BJP's loss, Makkal Needhi Maiam Chief Kamal Haasan in a tweet said, "First sign of a new start. This is people's verdict."

The comments came in the wake of Congress trumping the BJP in clear mandates in Rajasthan and Chattisgarh to form governments, even as a close race was on the cards in Madhya Pradesh when reports last came in.

Asked about his earlier assertion that Prime Minister Narendra Modi seemed to be a "strong" man and the BJP is still losing despite the former's campaign in these states, the 67-year-old actor said: "It (the losses) is certainly a big setback for the BJP. There is no doubt about that."