Kamal Haasan says ready to ally with Congress if it parts ways with DMK

Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan has said that his Makkal Needhi Maiyam (MNM) party is ready to join hands with the Congress for upcoming polls if it parted ways with its current ally, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

The actor said he launched MNM on the promise of bringing a corruption-free government.

“For us, DMK and AIADMK are common and we are maintaining an equal distance from both of them. We will not join hands with either DMK or AIADMK. However, we are not against Congress,” Kamal told newsmen in Salem.

“If Congress departs from its alliance with DMK, we are ready to join hands with them,” Kamal said.

In order to strengthen his party, Kamal has been travelling across the state to meet people. After completing his tours in Trichy and Coimbatore region, the actor had reached Salem region.

The actor recalled his meeting Congress president Rahul Gandhi in June.

“When I went to Bengaluru to take part in (Karnataka chief minister) H D Kumaraswamy’s swearing-in function, I met Rahul Gandhi. He asked me to visit his residence during my Delhi visit. So, I called on him when I went to Delhi to register MNM with election commission of India,” he said.

Kamal also said that his father was a Congressman.

However, DMK said it would not pay too much attention to Kamal’s statement and emphasized that DMK-Congress alliance is continuing for now.

“Congress and DMK alliance continues for now. We haven’t changed our stand on the alliance with Congress,” said TKS Elangovan, Rajya Sabha MP and principal spokesperson of DMK.

Thirunavukkarasar, president, Tamil Nadu Pradesh Congress Committee said that they are not parting ways with DMK.

“As a PCC president, I am happy with Kamal Haasan’s willingness to join hands with Congress. However, I want to clarify that the DMK-Congress alliance is strong and it will continue.” Thirunavukkarasar noted.

Aazhi Senthilnathan, a political analyst, observed that Kamal’s moves have not been not serious.

“Though he launched his party some nine months back, he has not been practicing serious politics. Both Kamal and Rajini are behaving like part-time politicians. Also, it’s obvious that Kamal’s party connect at grassroots level are not strong. Though he has not had any electoral success till now, he demands that established parties should dance to his tunes. He can make such demands only after proving his strength electorally, in politics,” Senthilnathan told HT.

First Published: Oct 13, 2018 17:32 IST