This LS polls, Kamal’s MNM shines in Chennai and Kongu region

In a surprise development, actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) has done a fair job this Lok Sabha election. Contesting in all 36 constituencies (except for Kancheepuram and Perambalur, where nominations were cancelled) under the torchlight symbol, the party has managed to put up a visible presence in the state.

In the parliamentary elections, MNM gave a tough fight to Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) and Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), and split the votes of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). As a debutant, the MNM has done better in 12 seats than the NTK, which is almost 10 years old.

Kamal also managed to steal the limelight from AMMK chief TTV Dhinakaran, who has been claiming to be the true inheritor of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. The latter has performed better than the MNM in 25 seats and the AMMK did better than the NTK in 20 seats.

Particularly in Chennai, which comprises Chennai North, Chennai Central and Chennai South, the MNM has gained a spectacular vote share than the AMMK. In Chennai South, the party managed to get 12.03 per cent more than the AMMK and the NTK. In Chennai Central, AMMK did not contest, and the MNM managed to get 11.74 per cent. That is where actor Nasser’s wife Kameela Nasser contested and emerged as the third candidate after Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) candidate Sam Paul.

In Chennai North, the MNM got 10.8 per cent of the votes and took third place. The NTK’s much-expected P Kaliyammal, came fourth with a 6.33 per cent vote share.

In the Kongu region — Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Nilgiris — the MNM has done fairly well and managed to get the third position in these constituencies. The party has managed to get an 11.63 per cent vote share particularly in Coimbatore.

One reason why the MNM has done well in the urban areas of Chennai and the Kongu belt is Kamal’s star value. It was in these regions that many of his fan clubs were first to convert into welfare organisations, when Kamal decided to convert all his ‘rasigar mandrangal’ (fan clubs) into ‘narpani mandrangal’ (welfare organisations).

However, in the bypolls, the same was not reflected. MNM contested only from 19 constituencies. Having put up a tough fight against the AMMK and the NTK, the MNM able to overtake the NTK only in five constituencies — Poonamallee, Perambur, Hosur, Sulur and Thirupparankundram. In Paramakudi, his hometown, the party managed to get only a 3.3 per cent vote share, behind the NTK.