Arvind Kejriwal to meet Kamal Haasan over lunch in Chennai today, meeting to be ‘political’

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will meet veteran actor Kamal Haasan for lunch in Chennai today. (PTI Photo)

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal is likely to meet Kamal Haasan, who is preparing to enter politics, on Thursday in Chennai. A source close to Kejriwal told The Indian Express: “Arvind Kejriwal will be travelling to Chennai Thursday to meet Kamal Haasan, while the exact agenda of the meeting can’t be revealed, it will be political in nature.” Kejriwal is expected to land in Chennai at 11.30 am.

In Tamil Nadu, where film actors have been instrumental in changing the direction of mainstream politics for five decades, Haasan is likely to be the newest entrant. Particularly, with the political situation in Tamil Nadu in a state of flux, sources close to Haasan said this month that the veteran actor is planning to launch his political outfit by the end of this month with an eye on local body elections expected in November.

An AAP leader added, “Right now, the political situation in the country is at a critical juncture. The BJP government at the Centre has a clear agenda of breaking or bullying state governments and Opposition parties….”

Haasan’s political entry was predicted by many, especially after he made a series of politically loaded comments against the infighting within the AIADMK after J Jayalalithaa’s death.

An AAP source added: “Haasan has made it very clear that his stance is against the communal forces operating within the country. Ahead of the local body elections in Tamil Nadu, the two (Kejriwal and Haasan) are likely to have an exchange of notes over the problems faced within the country and how best to tackle them.”

The meeting is also indicative of Kejriwal’s own “attempt to increase the scope of his role in the national Opposition space,” said an AAP source.