DMK likely to nominate Kamal Haasan to Rajya Sabha

Chennai: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is likely to nominate Tamil actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan to Rajya Sabha. The speculations about the actor’s entry to the house made headlines after Tamil Nadu Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments PK Sekar Babu, met the actor at his residence on Wednesday.

Kamal Haasan, founder of Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), aligned his party with the INDIA bloc during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and campaigned extensively for the DMK-led front in Tamil Nadu. The alliance secured a clean sweep, winning all 39 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

DMK sources confirmed that Chief Minister and party chief MK Stalin had promised Kamal Haasan a Rajya Sabha seat in return for his support during the general elections, reported IANS.

As six Rajya Sabha seats will become vacant in June 2025, Minister Sekar Babu reportedly visited Kamal Haasan to convey CM Stalin’s assurance that he would be nominated.

Meanwhile, MNM spokesperson and renowned Tamil filmmaker Murali Appas confirmed that the party is set to receive a Rajya Sabha seat. He added that Kamal Haasan would decide on the candidate. According to Appas, Haasan would consult with party office-bearers before making a final decision. While he acknowledged the meeting between Sekar Babu and Haasan, he did not disclose further details.

Kamal Haasan founded MNM in Madurai on February 21, 2018. He envisioned the party as a platform advocating transparency, governance reforms, and regional cooperation. Its party flag, featuring six interlocked hands, symbolizes unity among the southern states of India (five states and one union territory).

In the 2019 general elections, MNM candidates secured a 3.72 per cent vote share. The party performed well in urban centres such as Chennai, Coimbatore, and Madurai, securing over one lakh votes in some areas. However, it failed to woo the voters in rural constituencies, with all its candidates losing their deposits.

The party contested the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections independently but failed to secure any seats. Kamal Haasan himself lost the Coimbatore South constituency to BJP’s Vanathi Srinivasan by a margin of 1,728 votes.

MNM faced another setback in the 2022 urban local body elections by failing to win even one seat out of 140.