Chennai: As Makkal Neethi Maiam (MNM) leader Kamal Haasan prepares to enter the Rajya Sabha with the DMK’s support, the veteran actor-politician appears to have quietly shelved his once-ambitious dream of becoming chief minister of Tamil Nadu, a vision he boldly championed when he launched his party in 2018.
MNM’s influence has since waned, signalling a near end to its role as a competitive political force at the state level. Although the party had not won any seats in Tamil Nadu, it held a minor vote share and carried some weight only because of Haasan’s popularity.
On 28 May, the ruling DMK, while announcing candidates for the 19 June Rajya Sabha polls, allotted one seat to MNM, setting the stage for Haasan to enter the Upper House.
With Haasan now being at the centre, political analysts say while it may help the INDIA bloc overall, it would further diminish his own party’s clout in Tamil Nadu politics.
“Even for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he helped a lot of DMK candidates secure a win through his campaign. Although it did not create a big wave, it did add value to the DMK-led alliance in raking up opposition against the BJP-led Union government and the opposition party,” political analyst Raveendran Duraisamy told ThePrint.
On 30 May, Haasan met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin at Anna Arivalayam after the DMK allocated a Rajya Sabha seat to the MNM.
Later, Haasan told reporters it was the need of the hour to raise the voice of Tamils at a national level. “It is not that I have not been speaking for Tamils. My voice has always been for the Tamils and for the first time, it is going to be heard in Parliament.”
Asked about his earlier stand against the ruling DMK, he said it was the need of the hour, adding, “It is needed for the country, hence I have come here.”
Haasan had launched the Makkal Needhi Maiam in Madurai district on 21 February, 2018. He decided to go for the torch as his party symbol. During his first speech, he emphasised anti-corruption, welfarism and ideologically neutral politics.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Haasan, without any alliance with any political party, fielded candidates in all 39 parliamentary constituencies in the state. He led the campaign but did not contest from any of the seats. MNM secured a vote share of 3.72 percent.
In the run-up to 2021 assembly elections, Haasan declared he would not be joining hands with either of the two larger Dravidian parties. “Both DMK and AIADMK are looters. By this, I am not saying I am against the Dravidian ideology,” he had said during a campaign in Dharmapuri in January that year.
MNM instead joined hands with All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi led by actor-turned politician Sarath Kumar and Indhiya Jananayaka Katchi led by T.R. Pachamuthu alias Paarivendhar. Sarath Kumar later merged his party with the BJP.
While MNM contested in 142 seats, its allies contested in 73 seats. This time, Haasan himself contested in Coimbatore South but lost to BJP’s Vanathi Srinivasan by a margin of 1,728 votes. MNM secured a vote share of 2.62 percent, but did not win any seats.
For the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Haasan joined the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance.
Although it was initially discussed to allot a seat to MNM from the Congress party’s share, sources in MNM said they were keen on contesting on their own symbol rather than contesting on the Congress’s symbol.
“The Rajya Sabha seat given now was part of the agreement made between DMK and MNM during the 2024 Lok Sabha election,” an MNM functionary said.
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Why Haasan could not garner public support
Cinestars taking the political plunge is not new to Tamil Nadu. Dravidian stalwart, DMK founder and former chief minister C.N.Annadurai, and his successor M. Karunanidhi were both script writers in the Tamil film industry. AIADMK founder M.G.Ramachandran, fondly called MGR, and his successor J. Jayalalithaa too were from Kollywood.
Annadurai founded DMK in 1949, while MGR founded AIADMK in 1972.
Political analysts ThePrint spoke to said those in the Dravidian parties who came from the cine industry were not just actors or writers, but had been associated with political movements for a very long time, unlike Kamal Haasan.
Political analyst Sunilkumar said actors who venture into politics are trying to replicate what MGR did in 1977, by becoming the chief minister of Tamil Nadu.
“What they don’t remember is that, even MGR, before starting his own party in 1972, was part of the DMK and part of the Dravidian movement since his early cine days. All the Dravidian leaders have been part of politics much before they ventured into politics,” the assistant professor of political science department at Hindustan University said.
Duraisamy pointed out that not contesting in all 234 assembly constituencies in 2021 was Haasan’s first misstep. “Even by contesting limited seats, he was able to garner between 2-3 percent of votes. Had he contested in all the constituencies, he might have had a better chance for a better negotiation during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.”
Sunilkumar said Haasan failed to capitalise on his popularity. “Kamal had a support base who were an urban educated crowd, lacking the understanding of the state’s social structure. Kamal, as a leader of a political party, could not politicise them, which costs him now, losing his ambition of becoming chief minister.”
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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