Fighting alone or forging alliance, Kamal gets full support at central body meeting

At the party’s meeting of the central governing body and executive committees chaired by Kamal, the party passed a resolution authorising him to take all key decisions on 2021 Assembly elections in the state.

A resolution adopted at the meet said that in order to ensure victory at the polls, whether the MNM, “should go it alone or stitch electoral alliance with parties that have a similar ideology, contesting constituencies and candidates will be decided by president Kamal Haasan based on the wish of the people.”

Another resolution said that Kamal would set up a committee to select candidates for the ensuing Assembly polls and recommend a list of candidates. The actor-politician would have final say in the list of candidates to be selected from the committee recommended candidates, it added. The poll-related panels to be formed include the selection of candidates, preparation of election manifesto, poll fund besides a health committee to ensure compliance with norms to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The MNM said it would contest the bypolls to Kanniyakumari Lok Sabha seat in the event of the Election Commission deciding to hold a by-election to the Parliamentary seat alongside the 2021 Assembly elections. The Kanniyakumari seat fell vacant following the death of Congress leader H Vasanthakumar. In its meeting, the party condoled the deaths of office-bearers and members who died of COVID-19.

When asked whether the party would align with DMK led alliance, a senior leader of MNM said that Kamal has been critical of both the ruling AIADMK and the opposition DMK in equal measures over various issues, including Dalit panchayat president’s discrimination issue. “We have been projecting ourselves as an alternative to both the Dravidian parties and hence there is little scope for aligning with either of them. We might consider aligning with other like-minded parties at the time of the election,” he said, refusing to name any like-minded parties.