The MNM chief, referring to preparations for the parliamentary polls, anticipated a “good opportunity” adding that the election works are going well….reports Asian Lite News
In a run-up to the Lok Sabha Elections, Makkal Needhi Maiam president and actor Kamal Hassan said on Monday that an alliance announcement will be made within two days.
While speaking to reporters at Chennai airport, the MNM chief, referring to preparations for the parliamentary polls, anticipated a “good opportunity” adding that the election works are going well.
“In two days I will meet you with good news. Works for the Parliament election are going well and hoping for a good opportunity. Regarding the alliance will announce the decision in two days,” Kamal Hassan said.
Kamal Hassan reached Chennai Aiport on Monday morning from the US after his upcoming movie ‘Thug Life’ preparation works there.
Earlier in September last year, DMK leader and Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin hinted at his party allying with Hassan’s MNM ahead of the parliamentary polls.
“The party leaders will decide on the alliance (with Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam party) at the time of the elections,” Udhayanidhi Stalin had said.
Also, Kamal Hassan had come in defence of Udhayanidhi Stalin during the ‘Sanatana Dharma’ controversy against the latter saying that a young child (Udhayanidhi) was being targeted just because he spoke about Sanatana.
Hassan formed MNM in 2018 but faced defeats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and 2021 Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu.
Later, MNM extended support to the ruling DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance candidate during the by-polls in Erode.
Also, Hassan was seen alongside Congress MP Rahul Gandhi embarking on his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra when it reached Tamil Nadu earlier in December 2022.
MNM has recently being sanctioned with the symbol of a battery torch. The veteran superstar who involved himself for the cause of the downtrodden has already entered an electoral alliance with the ruling DMK and will be part of the I.N.D.I.A bloc for the 2024 general elections.
Coimbatore seat is currently represented by CPI-M, while Chennai North, South and Central seats were represented by Dr Kalanidhi Veeraswamy, Dr Thamizhachi Thangapandian and Dayanidhi Maran respectively. All three are from the DMK.
For the veteran actor contesting from Coimbatore, a seat of the alliance partner CPI-M, the DMK will require several rounds of discussions with the CPI-M leadership as also with other coalition partners but if the seat is either Chennai (North, Central or South), it can easily allocate the seat from its own kitty. While the three Chennai seats are represented by the DMK, all three are heavy weight candidates from known political families of DMK. While Dayanidhi Maran (Chennai Central MP) is the cousin of party supremo and Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin,Dr Kalanidhi Veeraswamy (Chennai North MP) is the son of former minister and powerful leader Arcot N.Veeraswami. The DMK MP from Chennai South is Dr Thamizachi Thangapandian whose father was a former MLA and brother is Tamil Nadu‘s minister Thangam Thenarasu.
However, Kamal Haasan has an advantage in Coimbatore as he had contested the 2021 assembly elections from Coimbatore South, losing it by a slender margin of 1,540 votes to the BJP Women’s wing leader, Vanathi Sreenivasan. It may be recalled that in the 2019 general elections, Kamal Haasan’s MNM candidate, Dr R. Mahendran stood third in Coimbatore Lok Sabha seat, polling 1,45,104 votes with a vote share of 11.6 per cent of the total votes polled.
BJP candidate, C.P. Radhakrishnan who is presently the Governor of Jharkhand had come second in this seat garnering, 3,92,007 votes with 31.34 per cent vote share.
CPI-M leader P.R. Natarajan who won the elections, had polled, 5,77,150 votes at a vote share of 45.66 per cent. If Kamal Haasan contests from Coimbatore as a candidate of the DMK front, he can easily win, given the volume of votes polled by the
DMK front and the votes received by the MNM candidate, Dr.R.Mahendran. It remains, however, to be seen whether the CPI-M will agree to shift from Coimbatore which is one of the two seats the party won from Tamil Nadu-the other being Madurai.
While Kamal Haasan‘s first choice is Coimbatore, he, according to sources close to him, does not mind contesting Lok Sabha elections from either of Chennai North, South or Central constituencies.
With the DMK led I.N.D.I.A front at an advantage in Tamil Nadu, it has to be seen from where Kamal Haasan, one of the top most actors of Tamil Nadu, will ultimately contest polls.
Modi to Join Final Day of BJP’s Tirupur Padayatra
The BJP president of Tamil Nadu, K Annamalai on Monday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the party’s ‘En Mann En Makkal’ padayatra on its concluding day.
The BJP chief said that PM Modi who is set to embark on a two-day visit to Tamil Nadu, will join the padayatra on February 27 and will also attend various events on February 28.
Annamalai arrived in Chennai earlier today after attending the BJP’s two-day national convention in Delhi.
While speaking to reporters at Chennai airport on Monday, Annamalai said, “PM Modi is scheduled to come to Tamil Nadu to attend the final day of ‘En Mann En Makkal’ padayatra on February 27 at Palladam. On Feb 27 and 28, PM Modi will be in Tamil Nadu to attend various events”.
The padayatra led by Annamalai will enter its 234th constituency Palladam in Tirupur district on February 27, which will be its last.
According to sources, PM Modi is scheduled to hold a massive rally in Palladam to conclude the Yatra.
BJP national president JP Nadda joined the yatra in Chennai when it completed 200 constituencies earlier this month.
Union Minister Amit Shah flagged off the six-month-long padayatra in Rameshwaram in July last year.
A significant presence of BJP State District Union executives, party members, and the general public was observed during the pada yatra.
During the launch, Amit Shah said that ‘En Mann, En Makkal’ is to make Tamil Nadu free from family dynastic politics and corruption and to improve the law and order situation in the state.
“This Yatra is not only a political Yatra; the “En Mann En Makkal” (My Land, My People) Yatra is a Yatra to spread the Tamil language worldwide. It is to make Tamil Nadu free from family dynastic politics and corruption and to improve the law and order situation in the state. It is a yatra to end corruption and start development work,” Amit Shah said. (ANI)
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