Kamal Haasan To Be Nominated for Rajya Sabha

Veteran actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief Kamal Haasan is all set to enter the Rajya Sabha, with his nomination almost confirmed. He will represent Tamil Nadu in the upper house of Parliament. The DMK officially announced his candidacy on Wednesday.

Elections for eight vacant Rajya Sabha seats are scheduled for June 19 — six from Tamil Nadu and two from Assam. Based on its current strength of 134 MLAs, DMK is expected to win four out of the six Tamil Nadu seats, with AIADMK likely to get the remaining two.

The DMK named four candidates today — Kamal Haasan (70), sitting MP Wilson, Tamil writer Salma, and party leader S.R. Sivalingam. This virtually confirms Kamal’s entry into the Rajya Sabha.

Kamal launched the Makkal Needhi Maiam party in Madurai on February 21, 2018, but the party has struggled to make an impact in elections. It contested the 2019 general elections, but failed to win any seats, although it secured 3.72% vote share, especially in urban areas like Chennai, Coimbatore, and Madurai. However, in rural areas, most of its candidates lost their deposits.

In the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, the party didn’t win a single seat. Kamal contested from Coimbatore but lost to BJP's Vanathi Srinivasan by just 1,728 votes. Similarly, in the 2022 urban local body elections, MNM failed to win even one of the 140 seats it contested.

During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, MNM supported the INDIA alliance and actively campaigned for it. Reports in Tamil media suggested that DMK and MNM reached an understanding, giving Kamal the choice of either contesting the Lok Sabha elections or being nominated to the Rajya Sabha. It appears Kamal chose the Rajya Sabha route.