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Updated May 2nd, 2021 at 22:05 IST

TN polls: Kamal Haasan loses to BJP's Vanathi Sreenivasan by 900 votes in Coimbatore South

While DMK stormed to power once again in Tamil Nadu, routing the AIADMK, MNM chief Kamal Haasan lost to BJP candidate Vanathi Sreenivasan in Coimbatore (South)

PTI/Vanathi BJP twitter
PTI/Vanathi BJP twitter | Image:self
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While DMK stormed to power once again in Tamil Nadu, routing the AIADMK, MNM chief Kamal Haasan lost to BJP candidate Vanathi Sreenivasan in the Coimbatore (South) Assembly polls on Sunday. The actor-turned-politician lost the constituency by over 900 votes after a hard-fought battle polling 45,042 votes compared to Vanathi's 45,932 votes. The DMK has won 132 seats while AIADMK has won only 69 seats, ushering MK Stalin's maiden CM term.

Kamal Haasan loses to BJP's Vanathi

Haasan had locked in a rare four-way battle for Coimbatore (South) facing BJP's  Vanathi Sreenivasan, AMMK's R Doraisamy and Congress' Mayura S Jayakumar. While Coimbatore South is an AIADMK bastion, AMMK's R Doraisamy who had won the seat in 2011 on an AIADMK ticket is set to give the superstar a tough battle. Banking on MNM vice president R Mahendran's good Lok Sabha performance in Coimbatore South, Kamal Haasan sought to woo the largely urban, upper-caste voters in the town.

Kamal Hasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam

The Vishwaroopam star had launched his party in a public meeting in Madurai in February 2018, saying that MNM will fill the vacuum in Tamil politics. He also launched his party flag which shows six interlocked hands that symbolized co-operation between the Southern states of India. In the Lok Sabha elections, the party contested 36 seats but did not win any and also failed to open its account in the Tamil Nadu by-polls. While Kamal Haasan had been open to allying with Rajinikanth, it was dropped after Rajinikanth dropped his political entry. MNM had aggressively campaigned with the Superstar taking the poll plunge in Coimbatore South.

Addressing a press conference flanked by fellow actors - Radhika Sarathkumar and Suhasini Mani Ratnam, Kamal Haasan said, "Those criticising me for being an actor, I want to say that MGR continued to act in films even after he became an MLA. He did this because he wanted to earn money for politics, as do I. If my acting career impedes in my political journey, I will quit acting". He added, "Let us see who will disappear, which has to be decided by the people." MNM had allied with AAP for the upcoming polls.

Tamil Nadu polls

The two warring factions in AIADMK - of Deputy CM O Pannerselvam (OPS) and CM E Palaniswamy (EPS), reconciled after the party named incumbent E Palaniswamy as its CM candidate and O Panneerselvam as the chief of the 11-member steering committee. With Sasikala's 'retirement' from politics, AIADMK remained wary of her nephew - but he failed to win a single seat. In a bid to woo voters, CM EPS announced a slew of social measures like Pongal gift hampers, farm loan waiver, free COVID-19 vaccines, passing school students etc which has been slammed by DMK M K Stalin calling it 'pre-poll appeasement'. 

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Published May 2nd, 2021 at 22:05 IST

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