Kamal Haasan says 'Will form 3rd front in TN'; MNM to decide on CM if allied with Rajini

Ahead of the Tamil Nadu polls, Makal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief Kamal Haasan on Wednesday, said that he will form a third front in the state, allying with parties other than AIADMK and DMK. When asked if he would consider allying with superstar Rajinikanth's unnamed party, Haasan said that he is open to it and will  'talk and decide who will be the chief ministerial candidate'. Tamil Nadu polls will be held in April-May 2021.

Kamal Haasan sounds poll bugle; vows to make Madurai 'Tamil Nadu's second capital'

Kamal Haasan: 'Will decide on CM candidate'

"A third party alliance will be formed under my leadership in the coming Assembly elections. If there is an alliance with Rajinikanth we will talk and decide who will be the chief ministerial candidate," said Kamal Haasan. The MNM chief kicked off his poll campaign in Madurai and has visited Theni, Dindigul, Virudhunagar, Nellai, Thoothukudi and Kanyakumari between December 13-16. 

Sounding the poll bugle in Madurai, Haasan proclaimed that his party will fulfill AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran's dream to establish Madurai as the second capital of Tamil Nadu. He has also stoked the 'Hindi imposition' debate saying, "I am not against Hindi. But neither do we have anything wrong with Tamil or other regional languages, for us to learn Hindi".

“Not against Hindi, but won't accept any language imposition”: MNM Chief Kamal Haasan

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 which symbolised co-operation between the Southern states of India. In Lok Sabha elections, the party contested 36 seats but did not win any and also failed to open its account in the Tamil Nadu bypolls.

While both Kamal and Rajini have been open to alliance with each other,  the Dravidian parties are also vying to ally with the susperstars. Though Kamal has actively campaigned for polls, Rajini has said that he will reveal his party's name on December 31, naming his office-bearers to his fans, promising to practice 'spiritual politics'.

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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.

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