AAP takes Southern plunge; to ally with Kamal Haasan's MNM for Tamil Nadu polls: Sources

In a surprising twist to the crucial Tamil polls, sources report on Saturday that Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will join hands with Superstar Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) for the upcoming polls. AAP, which recently announced that it will contest elections in six states - Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat has now taken the Southern plunge too. Tamil Nadu is set to go to the polls in April-May.

DMK chief kickstarts 'Ungal Thogudhiyil Stalin' campaign in run up to Tamil Nadu elections

Delhi govt sets up Tamil academy

Recently the Kejriwal-led Delhi government set up Tamil, Marathi, and Konkani academies in the national capital. Appreciating his move, DMK Supremo MK Stalin, CM E Palaniswami, and MNM chief Kamal Haasan had congratulated and thanked him. Kejriwal had replied to their tweets in Tamil, emphasizing 'creating a multilingual Delhi'.

Temple for MGR, Jaya opens in Tamil Nadu

Kamal Hasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam

The Vishwaroopam star had launched his party in a public meeting in Madurai in February 2018, saying that MNM will fill the vacuum in Tamil politics. He also launched his party flag which shows six interlocked hands that symbolized co-operation between the Southern states of India. In the Lok Sabha elections, the party contested 36 seats but did not win any and also failed to open its account in the Tamil Nadu by-polls. While Kamal Haasan had been open to allying with Rajinikanth, it was dropped after Rajinikanth dropped his political entry. MNM has aggressively campaigned with the Superstar completing two phases of a tour across the state.

JP Nadda visits Tamil Nadu, holds core committee meeting with party leaders in Madurai

Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2021

The two warring factions in AIADMK - of Deputy CM O Pannerselvam (OPS) and CM E Palaniswamy (EPS), reconciled after the party named incumbent E Palaniswamy as its CM candidate and O Panneerselvam as the chief of the 11-member steering committee. With AIADMK announcing it will continue its national alliance with BJP, the saffron party is yet to officially announce its state-level alliance. Meanwhile, ex-CM Karunanidhi's successor - DMK chief MK Stalin eyes his maiden CM term as DMK cannot afford to lose a third straight Assembly election after sweeping the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with 38 seats.