Kamal Haasan on expecting MP ticket from Cong: 'Why shouldn't it be me?'

Actor turned politician and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief Kamal Haasan has extended his support for Congress-DMK alliance candidate EVKS Elangovan for the bypolls in Erode East. Kamal Haasan said that his party’s decision to support the Congress candidate was in national interest.

When asked about the possibility of being offered a Parliament ticket by the Congress in the future, Kamal Haasan said that he sees no reason why it shouldn’t be him. It is worth noting that he recently joined Rahul Gandhi in the ‘ Bharat Jodo Yatra in Delhi.

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Kamal Haasan’s support for Elangovan came after the latter visited his office on January 23 and requested his support for the bypolls. Following a meeting with the executive members of his party, Kamal declared his decision to support the Congress candidate.

Kamal announced to the media that his party’s executive members have come to a unanimous decision to support the Congress-DMK alliance candidate in the Erode East bypolls, stating that it is the current decision of the party.

When asked if this support would continue for the 2024 general election, he said that it is only for the current by-election and it is too early to make a decision about the 2024 general election as there is still one year left.

Party ideology secondary

When asked about his past criticism of the Congress and the DMK, Kamal stated that he views the current situation as a moment of national importance, where party ideology is secondary to the needs of the people. He also emphasized that he is against the idea of a monoculture and that India’s diversity is what makes it unique.

Kamal emphasised that his decision to support the Congress-DMK alliance candidate does not mean that he has given up his fight against corruption. He explained that he is willing to temporarily set aside minor differences for the larger cause, and that this does not mean he will remain silent on corruption issues.

He also clarified that he is not loyal to any political party, but rather to the battle against corruption.

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The Congress announced on Sunday that they have chosen former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) leader, Elangovan, as their candidate for the upcoming February 27 bypolls in the Erode (East) assembly constituency.

This came as a surprise as Elangovan had previously indicated that he would not be running for the bypolls and instead had requested the party to give the ticket to his son Sanjay Sampath.

Elangovan’s political experience 

Elangovan has a long history of political experience. In 2004, he was elected to the Lok Sabha and held the position of Union minister of state for textiles. He also served as the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president from 2014 to 2017.

Additionally, he has a history of contesting in the assembly elections. He was elected to the Sathyamangalam assembly constituency in 1985. Recently, he contested in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from the Theni constituency but was defeated by AIADMK’s P Ravindranath Kumar.