Actor Rajinikanth will announce his “plan of action” on taking up politics next week, his friend and politician Tamilaruvi Manian told ANI on Friday. Rajinikanth will meet his fans between December 26 and 31 to make the announcement, Manian said after the actor met him earlier in the day.

Manian, a former Congress leader, runs the political organisation Gandhiya Makkal Iyakkam in Tamil Nadu.

There has been speculation about Rajinikanth’s imminent entry into politics ever since he hinted at the possibility in May. He said if he ever did so, he would take on those who make money out of it. “If god is willing, I will enter politics and keep away those who are money-minded and power-hungry,” he had said in his first direct address to fans in eight years.

In November, actor Kamal Haasan also said he was firm about his decision to enter politics, which again lifted fans’ anticipation about Rajinikanth following suit.