Published 14:24 IST, February 20th 2021
MNM chief Kamal Haasan meets Rajinikanth in his Poes Garden residence ahead of TN polls
In the latest development, Makkal Needhi Maiam's (MNM) chief Kamal Haasan met Kollywood superstar Rajinikanth at the latter's Poes Garden residence on Saturday
In the latest development, Makkal Needhi Maiam's (MNM) chief Kamal Haasan met Kollywood superstar Rajinikanth at the latter's Poes Garden residence on Saturday. Kamal Haasan's meeting with Rajinikanth on Saturday reportedly lasted for 45 minutes. Earlier, the MNM permanent president had said that he would be meeting Rajinikanth before the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections to seek his support.
RMM refutes Rajan's claims, denies Rajinikanth's re-entry
Meanwhile, Rajinikanth has not revealed his plans to take the political plunge after withdrawing from doing so earlier. Asserting that the Superstar Rajinikanth has not spoken about re-entering politics with Kanyakumari Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM) Deputy Secretary R S Rajan, the official fan club has refuted such reports. Terming Rajan's actions based on 'self-promotion' and 'self-interest', the fan club dismissed any call between Rajan and the Superstar's party officials. Rajinikanth, owing to health issues, said that he will not be forming his own political party to contest in the Tamil Nadu polls.
Rajan indicated the possibility of Superstar Rajinikanth restarting the party, citing that he was invited to a meeting of the higher authorities of the party in the near future. In a letter penned by Rajan, the RMM functionary claimed that he was shocked to learn about Rajini's exit from the political arena even before his entry, but was looking forward to a meeting with other members of the party in the future where Rajinikanth is expected to make a decision on restarting the party. Rajan in his letter has said that he had heard from Manian and others about Rajinikanth's plan to rethink his entry into politics and talks of the Superstar making the announcement on 14 or 15 February.
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.
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. Arvind Kejriwal's AAP is also set to make its debut in Tamil Nadu after MNM chief Kamal Haasan initiated talks of an alliance for the upcoming Assembly polls.
Updated 14:24 IST, February 20th 2021