Kamal may contest under Cong symbol in TN

Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan is likely to contest in the Lok Sabha elections on a Congress ticket. According to reports, DMK leaders have told the Congress party in the state to accommodate the Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) president in their quota in the upcoming polls.

A senior Congress politician in Tamil Nadu has also confirmed to a publication that they have been asked by the DMK to accommodate him and that if he is allocated a seat, he would have to contest under the Congress’ symbol. The big question is whether Kamala Haasan, who has his own party — Makkal Needhi Maiam — would agree to this demand.
Recently, there were reports that Kamal Haasan was given the option of either contesting one Lok Sabha seat or accepting a post-poll Rajya Sabha berth by the DMK, in exchange for extensive campaigning across the state for the DMK-led alliance. The DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls includes the Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and the Left parties, along with Makkal Needhi Maiam.

In 2021, Kamal Haasan lost by a narrow margin to BJP’s Vanathi Srinivasan in Coimbatore. Now, he is banking on MNM’s impressive performance in Coimbatore (getting 1.44 lakh votes) and South Chennai (1.35 lakh votes) seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to help him push his agenda with the DMK. However, in the 2021 Assembly polls, the MNM vote share dipped. Kamal Haasan is betting on the DMK-led alliance to improve his party’s fortunes this time around.

A senior DMK leader had told the media, “If Kamal Haasan doesn’t want to contest, he will be given the option of being our star campaigner and can be given a Rajya Sabha berth later.”
It remains to be seen what Kamal Haasan chooses to do.