Kamal Haasan, a prominent Tamil film actor and the cheif of the Makkal Needhi Maiam, will run for the state Assembly from the Coimbatore South constituency in the upcoming elections. He made the announcement today as his party’s second slate of candidates was released. According to rumours, he could run for the seat of Alandur in Chennai, which was previously held by former Chief Minister MG Ramachandran for nine years.
The MNM released its first list of 70 candidates only a few days ago. For the assembly elections, the MNM formed an alliance with actor R Sarath Kumar’s All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi (AISMK) and Lok Sabha MP Paarivendhar’s India Jananayaka Katchi (IJK). MNM is running for 154 of the 234 seats in the House of Representatives.
Former IAS officer Santhosh Babu has been granted a ticket from Villivakkam, while V Ponraj, a physicist and former associate of late APJ Abdul Kalam, has been fielded from Anna Nagar.
The AIADMK has retained the Coimbatore South seat in the last two Assembly elections, with Amman K Arjunan as the new incumbent. The ruling party, however, transferred the seat to its partner, the BJP, under a new seat-sharing agreement, causing much consternation among AIADMK cadres. MNM received 11% of the vote in the Coimbatore Lok Sabha constituency in the 2019 general election.
In honour of his late father, Makkal Needhi Maiam president Sreenivasan, the Makkal Needhi Maiam president expressed faith that the citizens of his constituency will vote for him in the assembly elections, enabling him to voice his views
“My father’s dream was I should become an IAS officer and then enter politics. Though I could not realize his dream, my party comprises many (former) IAS officers. For us, this is a moment of pride “He revealed this to reporters.
The MNM has formed a partnership with Sarathkumar’s All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi and Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi, as well as actor Sarathkumar’s All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi and Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi. Both allies will compete in 40 seats each, with a total of 154 seats available. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, it received about 4% of the vote, with its share reaching as much as 10% in urban areas.
The party has launched a one-of-a-kind online ticket distribution system for people to register as candidates, with shortlisted candidates being interviewed before being fielded in the race.
