Kamal Haasan announces boycott of upcoming local body polls, alleges 'fixed match'

Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief Kamal Haasan on Sunday, December 8, announced that his party would boycott the upcoming rural local body elections to be held in Tamil Nadu on December 27 and 30. Maintaining that people’s participation would be very less in these elections, he alleged that the polls were a 'fixed match' between corrupt parties. He targeted the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for “staging a political drama”. He added that his party’s goal was to win the 2021 Tamil Nadu assembly elections. 

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Local body elections

On December 2, the State Election Commission (SEC) had issued an official notification of the rural local bodies to be conducted in two phases. However, the DMK moved the Supreme Court citing some technicalities regarding the delimitation of districts. The Supreme Court, on Friday, directed that the delimitation exercise in 9 districts had to be completed in four months. In a fresh notification, the SEC left out these 9 districts. Despite this, the DMK is mulling the option of approaching the apex court yet again for issues such as reservation for SC/STs and women. Earlier this year, the government of Tamil Nadu reorganised four districts, out of which five districts were carved out.  

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Rajinikanth too stays away

Rajini Makkal Mandram, a fans' forum formed by Rajinikanth in 2018, has released a statement on Sunday that Rajinikanth would neither support any of the political parties for the local body polls nor should anyone use the name, logo, flag and other properties of Rajini Makkal Mandram and legal action would be taken against the people who do it. Earlier, Rajinikanth announced that he would not contest in the local body polls and his target would be only the assembly elections which will happen in 2021. He is expected to launch his political party in the middle of 2020, ahead of the 2021 assembly polls. 

(With PTI inputs)

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