Months after launching his political outfit - Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) - veteran actor Kamal Haasan on Saturday cleared the air over speculations about him contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha election. "I will definitely contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections," Kamal Haasan told reporters in Chennai.
However, it is not yet clear which constituency the 'Vishwaroopam' actor would prefer for his election debut.
Kamal Haasan had said that he intends to challenge the status quo "that has been plaguing the politics of Tamil Nadu for some time now".
"However, for this to happen, my thoughts and actions need to collectively resonate with the people," he had said during a state-wide tour earlier in the year. Haasan said the aim behind the tour was to to familiarise himself with the people's concerns.
"...to truly understand as to what the needs of my people are, what is afflicting them, what their aspirations are," he had said.
Rajinikanth to launch TV channel ahead of political plunge
Meanwhile, superstar Rajinikanth has filed application to launch his own TV channel ahead of formally announcing his party. The 68-year old actor had announced taking the political plunge in December 2017 while interacting with his fans in Chennai.
Rajinikanth has informed in a letter to the Registrar of Trademarks that an application made by the forum chief for trademarks be processed and he had no objection to the use of his name and photo in the logo of the proposed channel.
The matter came to light after the letter went viral on social media and sources close to the Tamil actor on Friday confirmed its veracity.
The move is seen as keeping in line with the tradition of political parties in Tamil Nadu having their own TV channels to effectively propagate their policies and programmes.
While the ruling AIADMK had recently launched 'News J' to propagate its views, a bouquet of channels under the 'Kalaignar TV' and the Marans-owned 'Sun TV' are said to be backing the opposition DMK.
'Jaya TV', managed by the relatives of jailed aide of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, V K Sasikala was originally a mouthpiece of the AIADMK, but now backs sidelined party leader T T V Dhinakaran since his fallout with current Chief Minister K Palaniswami last year.
(With inputs from agencies)
