Actor-politician Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam on Tuesday entered into a pact with the Republican Party of India (RPI) to fight the ensuing Lok Sabha election and the byelections to 18 Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu.
Briefing journalists in Chennai after clinching the deal, RPI leader and former MLA C.K. Tamilarasan said his party would field candidates in one Parliamentary constituency and three Assembly constituencies as part of the MNM-led alliance.
Stating that there was an opportunity to form a third front, Mr. Haasan told reporters, “We want the people of India to consider the option of a third front. Where the Makkal Needhi Maiam is going can be seen clearly from our party emblem.”
Mr. Tamilarasan, who has contested past elections as an ally of the AIADMK, said, “We need alternative politics in Tamil Nadu and it should speak of the rights of the oppressed and marginalised sections of society. This is why I have decided to support MNM.”
He said the constituencies where the RPI will contest during the Lok Sabha polls and the Assembly bypolls will be identified in the coming days.
Party symbol
“Our candidates will contest on the ‘Torch Light’ symbol [which has been allotted to MNM]. The symbol has reached a lot of people already,” he said.
“Other political parties are going towards ‘power politics’ and are prepared to do anything for posts. The MNM is striving to fight to preserve the rights of Tamil Nadu and the marginalised sections of society,” Mr. Tamilarasan claimed.
