BIG SCOOP: Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam to contest all 39 Tamil Nadu seats in 2019 Lok Sabha elections

In a big development in Tamil Nadu politics and against the backdrop of the upcoming general elections, top sources have told Republic TV that actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan has decided to contest all 39 Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha seats via his party, the Makkal Needhi Maiam.

The newsbreak comes on Kamal Haasan's birthday, and a year to the day that he announced his formal political entry.

As a precursor for contesting the Parliamentary elections from Tamil Nadu, Kamal Haasan's party will first contest upcoming assembly bypolls in the state, which will serve as the Makkal Needhi Maiam's first taste of elections.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Tamil Nadu had been one of the few states that had voted overwhelmingly for a party other than the BJP, with the AIADMK winning an incredible 37 of the 39 seats, thereby emerging as the third biggest party in India, comparable with the Congress which only had a handful of seats more.

However, since the demise of then chief minister and AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa, there has been tremendous flux in politics in the state, particularly with the AIADMK breaking up into two factions, one of which is currently in power in the state, and the other, being led by TTV Dhinakaran, nephew of Jayalalithaa's close aide Sasikala. Dhinakaran stormed to win the RK Nagar constituency that was held by Jayalalithaa till her death. The DMK, led by Stalin since former CM Karunanidhi's demise, is the other power in Tamil Nadu politics. A week earlier, Stalin had tweeted in support of efforts by Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu and Congress President Rahul Gandhi in stitching together a 'anti-BJP common platform.'

In Republic TV's National Approval Ratings for the month of October, before the Makkal Needhi Maiam's plans were revealed, the DMK was projected to win a very substantial 29 seats in the state, as compared to 9 for the AIADMK and one for the BJP.

READ | National Approval Ratings: Stalin's DMK Likely To Sweep 29 Out Of 39 Seats In Tamil Nadu Leaving AIADMK, NDA & UPA Far Behind