Chennai: Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) on Wednesday named its president Kamal Haasan as its candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for June 19. The announcement came shortly after the DMK declared it would contest 4 out of the 6 seats from the state for the Rajya Sabha polls and allotted one Upper House seat to ally, Haasan-led MNM.
The party’s decision was formalised in a meeting chaired by MNM general secretary A Arunachalam. A unanimous resolution was passed by the governing council and administrative committee in support of Haasan’s nomination. The party has officially sought the backing of alliance partners for his election.
DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin stated that the decision to allocate a seat to MNM was in line with the alliance pact inked prior to the 2024 general elections. “The understanding with MNM was clear, and we are honouring it,” Stalin said.
Six Rajya Sabha members from Tamil Nadu, including MDMK leader Vaiko, are due to retire in July. The Election Commission has scheduled biennial polls for June 19. With its numerical strength in the Assembly, the DMK and its allies are expected to secure four of the six seats, including the one reserved for MNM.
The DMK has announced three candidates, while the AIADMK is likely to nominate two. The DMDK had earlier claimed that it was promised a seat by the AIADMK, though there has been no official confirmation. A contest appears unlikely as the seats may be filled uncontested.
DMK re-nominated its incumbent member in the Upper House, senior advocate P Wilson and also named 2 others; party’s Salem-based leader SR Sivalingam and Ruqayya Malik alias Kavignar Salma, a poet, writer and party office-bearer. Kamal Haasan, 70, entered politics in 2018 with the launch of MNM in Madurai. Despite initial momentum, the party failed to make a mark in electoral contests. Haasan himself lost the 2021 Assembly election in Coimbatore South to BJP’s Vanathi Srinivasan. Following the setback, several senior leaders, including former vice president R Mahendran and ex-IAS officer Santhosh Babu, exited the party. Despite this, Haasan asserted he would remain in politics as long as he lived and that MNM would continue to function. Haasan is widely recognised for his contributions to Indian cinema. He began his acting career as a child in Kalathur Kannamma (1960) and has remained one of Tamil Nadu’s most prominent film personalities.