Kamal Haasan's MNM meet pushed to March 7; open applications for Tamil Nadu poll tickets

Actor-politician Kamal Haasan-led Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) has postponed its state conference to March 7 due to a delay in getting permission from the police to organise the large-scale event in Tamil Nadu.

With the police permission getting delayed, the party was left with no other option but to postpone the February 21 conference to March 7 as it also needs adequate time to organise lakhs of cadre amid COVID-19 pandemic, said Haasan.

The MNM chief however cleared that only the state conference would be postponed and not the party’s fourth founding day anniversary celebrations. The event would be held at a hall in Sairam Engineering College in West Mambalam on February 21. 

On March 7, the state conference would be held at Mannivakkam on Vandalur-Oragadam Road, and on the following day, an event titled “Penn Sakthi” would be organised at SRM University to celebrate women’s day.

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MNM opens applications for candidates

MNM has started looking for candidates for the upcoming Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Assembly elections and will begin accepting online applications from party members soon. The party has announced that the applications will open on Sunday, February 21, and potential candidates will have to pay ₹25,000 to be considered.

Haasan said even non-members are welcome to apply for a ticket if they have due qualifications. The amount will be used for the party's expenses and will not be refunded irrespective of whether the application is accepted, said Haasan, terming it as a contribution towards honest politics.

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Application forms will be distributed both online as well as in party offices and filled ones can be submitted from February 21 onwards. The MNM President invited applications from aspiring candidates for all 234 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu and the 30 in neighbouring Puducherry. 

Haasan said his party will also contest the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha bypoll, slated to be held along with Tamil Nadu elections. The vacancy arose after the death of Congress MP H Vasantha Kumar last year due to Covid-19.

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