Kamal Haasan: Ready to contest by-polls, whenever they take place

Renowned actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan on Wednesday announced that his party — Makkal Needhi Maiam — is all set to contest in the by-elections to 20 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu. He announced his decision on his 64th birthday.

Addressing the reporters in Chennai, Haasan said, as quoted by PTI, “Nobody knows whether the by-elections will be held. But we are ready to contest whenever they take place.” Adding more, he said that he belongs to those politicians who believe in seeking suggestions from people. He said, “I am not the one who believes in making promises. I am seeking suggestions from people.”

It is to be known that last month, Madras High Court upheld the disqualification of 18 AIADMK legislators — loyal to AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran. With this, the path to by-elections was layed. Along with 18 seats, due to the death of DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi and AIADMK’s AK Bose, two more seats — Tiruvarur and Tiruparankundram — have been vacant.

Though there has been no news on the by-elections dates as of yet, but it is expected that the polls will prove an acid test for the E Palaniswami-led AIADMK government. Based on the results of the polls, the fate of the party is dependent. In Tamil Nadu, DMK and its allies together have 97 MLAs (DMK 88 Congress 8 and IUML 1), while the ruling AIADMK has 116 MLAs — excluding Speaker P Dhanapal— in the 234-member House.

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