Kamal Haasan Expresses Desire To Contest 2024 Lok Sabha Elections From Coimbatore

Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan on Friday announced his plans to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections from Coimbatore. He stated his party intends to align with the secular Progressive Alliance led by DMK.

Haasan who lost the 2021 Lok Sabha elections from the industrial city by a narrow margin expressed his desire to contest in the elections during a conversation with his party members.

"When people come to watch my movie 'Vikram', why won't they come and vote for me," Kamal was quoted as saying by his party men.

Indeed, Coimbatore was amongst the few constituencies where Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) nominees garnered over 100,000 votes in the 2019 elections. R Mahendran, who achieved 145,000 votes at that time, is presently a DMK member.

Kamal Haasan, who made his political debut in 2018, has been gradually aligning with the Congress and DMK. He also participated in Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra and backed the Congress nominee in the Erode (east) by-elections.

In 2019, MNM received almost 4 per cent of the votes, but this dropped to a mere 2 per cent in 2021. Following the election, there was a string of departures from the party, with key members such as former bureaucrat Santhosh Babu, R Mahendran, and C K Kumaravel exiting and attributing the loss to Haasan.

The MNM did not perform well in the municipal elections, with Kamal Haasan noticeably being absent from significant public demonstrations since then. Securing a place within the DMK alliance for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections may potentially boost the significance of his party.