A day after saying he will "align with the people," actor-politician Kamal Haasan, on Tuesday, clarified that his party Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) will not align with the "kazhagams"— the AIADMK and the DMK.
Presiding over the meeting of district secretaries of MNM in Chennai, Haasan sought to put in place an action plan for his party to face the upcoming assembly elections. This will be the first assembly elections that MNM will be contesting since its launch in February 2018.
Hailed as Nammavar (our man) by his partymen and fans, Haasan, for the first time, spelt out his plans for the next elections and urged the members of his party to understand the ground reality by reaching out to people.
On the first day of the meeting, on November 2, Haasan had said, “Makkal Needhi Maiam’s alliance is with the people of Tamil Nadu.”
Stating that the aim of his party is not to make a person chief minister, he said, “We are going to make a change in the CM's post. You are the people who can make a political change in the state."
Haasan, who has been a critic of the AIADMK government and the opposition DMK, has been talking about bringing in a political change in the state, pitching him and his MNM as an alternative to the two Dravidian majors. He clarified that he does not intend to get into an alliance with either of the parties, saying, “We are not against Dravidianism. But we will not go with the kazhagams."
While talking about corruption and Tamil Nadu politics, Haasan took a dig at the political leaders in the state, saying "They are continuously engaged in corruption and are not afraid of anything. They want to swindle as much as possible. Even if you ask them which raga they like in music, they would say Suruti (meaning swindle in Tamil)."
“Your voice will be heard in the assembly and the preparation for that should start now,” he said.
Earlier, his party office bearers said Haasan is people's man who can bring in a change in Tamil Nadu. "Kamal Hassan is our last opportunity and let us not miss it. The question in the state now isn’t about whether EPS will be the next CM or Stalin be the next CM. The question in the people’s mind is whether to have Kamal Haasan or not. People of Tamil Nadu, do you want a good man? Do you want a talented individual? This is what we have to ask the people in the state,” said Murali Appas, a party office bearer.
MNM, which polled 3.72 per cent votes in 2019 Lok Sabha polls, has been pitching itself as a party which can bring in a change in the state. The party had eaten into the AIADMK vote share in parts of western Tamil Nadu and urban constituencies.
It is to be noted that Tamil Nadu already witnessed actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth and his DMDK, which pitched itself as an alternative to AIADMK and DMK, promising to bring in a change in the state, but failing to make an impact after polls.
