As actor Kamal Haasan prepares to launch his political party Wednesday, many in Tamil Nadu are waiting to see who its other faces will be — provided he announces the names
As actor Kamal Haasan prepares to launch his political party Wednesday, many in Tamil Nadu are waiting to see who its other faces will be — provided he announces the names.
Kamal Haasan will take out a roadshow from the house of late President A P J Abdul Kamal at Rameswaram, culminating in Madurai where he will address a rally to announce the party’s name and launch its flag. Sources close to him said they expect Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to attend the rally; Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar too were invited and they could send video messages as they could not reach Madurai.
What remains unclear, however, is who else the party will include other than Kamal Haasan. Some sources close to these developments say he may announce, at the rally in Madurai, the list of office-bearers for the party’s district committees. Other reports, on the other hand, suggest that he is likely to follow the same route as the late J Jayalalithaa, who was the single power centre in the party she ran until her death.
“There are intellectuals, activists and anti-corruption groups guiding and advising him, but he is unlikely to project a second leader next to him in the initial stages,” said one source. “It will be a party with a Dravidian flavour, inspired by Aam Aadmi Party and similar anti-corruption movements in Tamil Nadu. The party name may not include words such as ‘Dravida’ or ‘Kazhagam’. Some of the final designs selected for the flag are simple ones in two or three colours.”
Kamal Haasan’s plans to visit a school where Kalam studied has already been criticised by a few right-wing groups, which have blamed him for trying to patronise the late President and alleged that he had only one meeting with Kalam - accidentally, during a flight. “Due to this opposition, he may meet those children at some other place. The local authorities fear that the school education department, too, might object if Kamal Haasan is allowed to visit the school during his roadshow,” said a source.
After his visit to the Kalam Memorial in Rameswaram and the brief interaction with students of Kalam’s school — if it does take place — Kamal Hassan will travel to Ramanathapuram, his hometown, where he will address a gathering that is expected to be of 2,000 or more people.
He will meet people at two more places on the way to Madurai, in Paramakudi and Manamadurai. Organisers expect a few hundred people in both places and he may also deliver speeches.
On the eve of the party launch, DMK working president M K Stalin ridiculed the actor’s political venture. In a letter to the DMK cadre, Stalin described the new party as a paper flower and the DMK as a banyan tree which, with strong roots and branches, cannot be shaken. “As the climate changes, there will be a variety of flowers blooming but without any fragrance, and they wither too, very soon,” Stalin wrote.
Kamal Haasan, who has been meeting senior politicians in the last one week, including DMK’s M Karunanidhi and CPI’s R Nallakannu, besides Rajinikanth, has also visited Vijayakanth, the film-star who turned politician in 2005. Vijayakanth’s September 2005 rally in Madurai, where he launched his party DMDK, had an attendance of over one lakh people. Sources close to Kamal Haasan hope that not less than 10,000 will attend his rally Wednesday evening.
Kamal Haasan had a guest at home Tuesday morning before he flew out to Madurai. Seeman, the fiery Tamil nationalist leader who heads the Naam Tamilar Katchi, said he regards Kamal Hassan so highly that he could not allow the actor to visit him, so he paid the visit himself. In one of his latest attacks against non-Tamil politicians, Seeman has targeted Rajinikanth for his Maratha-Kannada origins. For Kamal Haasan, he was all praise.
“At a time when we are all waiting for change, Kamal Haasan has decided to bring in change and launch his party. Kamal Haasan is an artist and I have great regard for him and his work,” Seeman said. “As he was busy meeting many leaders ahead of the party launch, he wanted to meet me too. I said I would come and meet him, I do not want him to come and meet me. I wish him all the best in his political journey. Only time will tell if we work together or not.”
“He [Seeman] knows me as an actor,” Kamal Haasan said. “He does not know about my ideology or political plans. When I launch my party tomorrow, I am sure he will listen to me and he will form an opinion about that too.”
Asked why he did not meet any leaders of the ruling AIADMK, Kamal Haasan said he does not like this government. “I don’t want to meet them.”
Kamal Haasan will take out a roadshow from the house of late President A P J Abdul Kamal at Rameswaram, culminating in Madurai where he will address a rally to announce the party’s name and launch its flag. Sources close to him said they expect Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to attend the rally; Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar too were invited and they could send video messages as they could not reach Madurai.
What remains unclear, however, is who else the party will include other than Kamal Haasan. Some sources close to these developments say he may announce, at the rally in Madurai, the list of office-bearers for the party’s district committees. Other reports, on the other hand, suggest that he is likely to follow the same route as the late J Jayalalithaa, who was the single power centre in the party she ran until her death.
“There are intellectuals, activists and anti-corruption groups guiding and advising him, but he is unlikely to project a second leader next to him in the initial stages,” said one source. “It will be a party with a Dravidian flavour, inspired by Aam Aadmi Party and similar anti-corruption movements in Tamil Nadu. The party name may not include words such as ‘Dravida’ or ‘Kazhagam’. Some of the final designs selected for the flag are simple ones in two or three colours.”
Kamal Haasan’s plans to visit a school where Kalam studied has already been criticised by a few right-wing groups, which have blamed him for trying to patronise the late President and alleged that he had only one meeting with Kalam - accidentally, during a flight. “Due to this opposition, he may meet those children at some other place. The local authorities fear that the school education department, too, might object if Kamal Haasan is allowed to visit the school during his roadshow,” said a source.
After his visit to the Kalam Memorial in Rameswaram and the brief interaction with students of Kalam’s school — if it does take place — Kamal Hassan will travel to Ramanathapuram, his hometown, where he will address a gathering that is expected to be of 2,000 or more people.
He will meet people at two more places on the way to Madurai, in Paramakudi and Manamadurai. Organisers expect a few hundred people in both places and he may also deliver speeches.
On the eve of the party launch, DMK working president M K Stalin ridiculed the actor’s political venture. In a letter to the DMK cadre, Stalin described the new party as a paper flower and the DMK as a banyan tree which, with strong roots and branches, cannot be shaken. “As the climate changes, there will be a variety of flowers blooming but without any fragrance, and they wither too, very soon,” Stalin wrote.
Kamal Haasan, who has been meeting senior politicians in the last one week, including DMK’s M Karunanidhi and CPI’s R Nallakannu, besides Rajinikanth, has also visited Vijayakanth, the film-star who turned politician in 2005. Vijayakanth’s September 2005 rally in Madurai, where he launched his party DMDK, had an attendance of over one lakh people. Sources close to Kamal Haasan hope that not less than 10,000 will attend his rally Wednesday evening.
Kamal Haasan had a guest at home Tuesday morning before he flew out to Madurai. Seeman, the fiery Tamil nationalist leader who heads the Naam Tamilar Katchi, said he regards Kamal Hassan so highly that he could not allow the actor to visit him, so he paid the visit himself. In one of his latest attacks against non-Tamil politicians, Seeman has targeted Rajinikanth for his Maratha-Kannada origins. For Kamal Haasan, he was all praise.
“At a time when we are all waiting for change, Kamal Haasan has decided to bring in change and launch his party. Kamal Haasan is an artist and I have great regard for him and his work,” Seeman said. “As he was busy meeting many leaders ahead of the party launch, he wanted to meet me too. I said I would come and meet him, I do not want him to come and meet me. I wish him all the best in his political journey. Only time will tell if we work together or not.”
“He [Seeman] knows me as an actor,” Kamal Haasan said. “He does not know about my ideology or political plans. When I launch my party tomorrow, I am sure he will listen to me and he will form an opinion about that too.”
Asked why he did not meet any leaders of the ruling AIADMK, Kamal Haasan said he does not like this government. “I don’t want to meet them.”