MNM chief Kamal Haasan to hold Tamil Nadu election meet, day after chat with Rajinikanth

Makkal Needi Maiam's (MNM) permanent president Kamal Haasan will chair a public meeting on Sunday ahead of the Assembly elections in the state. As the road to the polls heats up in Tamil Nadu, parties have begun full-fledged campaigns, taking out state-wide tours and interacting with the public in events to address their grievances. Kamal Haasan paid a visit to Kollywood superstar Rajinikanth on Saturday at the latter's Poes Garden residence, creating speculations of the MNM leader meeting his friend to seek support for the polls as he had claimed to do so earlier. 

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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 has aggressively campaigned with the Superstar completing two phases of a tour across the state.

READ | MNM's Kamal Haasan Bats For Privatisation Of TASMAC, Says 'it Is Not Government's Job'

Kamal Haasan also repeated his appeal to the Tamil Nadu government to take firm steps on liquor stores in the state and called for the business to be privatized again. Kamal Haasan had previously urged the AIADMK government to allow private players to handle TASMAC, citing that it was not the government's job to be involved in the sale of alcohol. MNM's permanent president called for the number of TASMAC outlets in the states to be reduced to half while privatizing the rest gradually. 

In a press release circulated by MNM, Kamal Haasan pointed out that alcoholism was not prevalent in the state when liquor stores were privately owned, noting that there weren't many shops back then as well. Kamal Haasan suggested 'extremely limited' deliveries to private stores, keeping them under strict surveillance and enforcing rigid timings as means to reduce alcoholism in the state. Further, the MNM chief demanded the government to provide rehabilitation centers near liquor stores in order to help those addicted to alcohol. 

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Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2021

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 AIADMK announcing it will continue its national alliance with BJP, the saffron party is yet to officially announce its state-level alliance. Meanwhile, ex-CM Karunanidhi's successor - DMK chief MK Stalin eyes his maiden CM term as DMK cannot afford to lose a third straight Assembly election after sweeping the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with 38 seats. Arvind Kejriwal's AAP is also set to make its debut in Tamil Nadu after MNM chief Kamal Haasan initiated talks of an alliance for the upcoming Assembly polls. 

READ | MNM Chief Kamal Haasan Meets Rajinikanth In His Poes Garden Residence Ahead Of TN Polls