Days after his discharge from the hospital, superstar Rajinikanth announced he will not take the political plunge and start a party, citing health reasons.

Discharged from a Hyderabad hospital on Sunday after being treated for blood pressure fluctuations, the top actor expressed fears over those accompanying him in his possible political journey facing “mental and economic” problems in the due course.

Rajinikanth had earlier this month announced that he is going to launch his own political party in January, details on which were to be disclosed on December 31.

However, on Friday, he indicated he did not want to sound chivalrous by saying he will join politics despite his severe health concerns and that he did not want to “make a victim” of his supporters now.

“Therefore, I inform with great regret that I am unable to come to politics by floating a political party. Only I know the pain behind making this announcement,” the 70-year-old said in a statement, days after he said he will float his own outfit in January and face the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls.

He, however, said he will serve people in whatever ways he can without entering electoral politics.

“Without entering electoral politics, I will serve the people. This decision of mine will disappoint my fans and people but please forgive me,” he said.

Rajinikanth’s announcement of launching the party had ended years of speculations among fans regarding the matter.

The superstar, reassuring his brand of spiritual politics, had said categorically that his party will fight the Assembly elections in 2021 and “emerge victorious”.

Brother backs superstar's decision

Rajinikanth's elder brother on Tuesday backed the Tamil superstar's move to withdraw his decision to launch a political party.

The 77-year-old R Sathyanarayana Rao said it's his brother's wish and one can't force him to change his mind. When pointed to "a lot of expectations" that people had on Rajinikanth's planned political debut, Rao said: "We too believed that (he would launch the party)".

"He (Rajinikanth) has cited health reasons. So, we can't force him. It's his wish (not to launch party). Whatever decision he has taken, that's definitely right", Rao told news agency PTI.

He said he spoke to Rajinikanth on Monday inquiring about his health.

Earlier this month, Rajinikanth paid a visit to his brother in Bengaluru, where he grew up. The 70-year-old had sought the blessings of his brother, who wished him good health and long life.

"He (Rajinikanth) is a man of his word. He definitely does what he says. He always keeps his word," he added.