Actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) president Kamal Haasan has made a strategic decision for his party not to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, characterizing it not as a sacrifice but as a calculated strategy aimed at achieving larger political objectives.Addressing his party’s office bearers, Kamal Haasan invoked the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, emphasizing that his decision was motivated by the vision of a secular India, for which Gandhi had fought tirelessly. “Mahatma Gandhi did not die fighting for Muslims but for the secular India. For that secular India only I did not contest the election,” he stated, underscoring the ideological underpinnings behind MNM’s decision.
Kamal Haasan further elucidated that while the upcoming Lok Sabha elections are for India, the focus of his party will be on the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, indicating a strategic shift in MNM’s electoral priorities.
“I will campaign for all those who feared their seats would be given to us. You will see the respect we will get during the campaign,” Haasan asserted, highlighting MNM’s commitment to supporting allies and fostering collaborative efforts in pursuit of shared political objectives.
Responding to criticism regarding his alliance with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) after previously campaigning against it, Kamal Haasan offered a witty rejoinder, referencing an advertisement featuring him throwing a remote at a television in frustration over the DMK’s repeated promises. “Now both the TV and remote are there. However, the union government is trying to remove electricity for the TV and battery from the remote. What is the use in keeping them or throwing them? There is no point in it,” he quipped, using humor to critique the authoritarian tendencies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
Meanwhile, Kamal Haasan is set to kick off his poll campaign from Erode on March 29, traversing various constituencies before concluding his campaign at Pollachi on April 16.