Actor-politician Kamal Haasan has welcomed the fortunes of his party, the Makkal Needhi Maiam, in the 2019 Indian General Elections, stating that it was beyond his expectations. The party, which contested in all 38 seats in Tamil Nadu, has managed to post a vote-share of 3.72%.
When asked about the overall mandate which ensured a second term for the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said that he was happy about it not being the mandate of the people of Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu bucked the saffron wave, sending 37 MPs from DMK-Congress alliance to the Parliament.
“We didn’t expect (the people) to embrace a 14-month-old baby; the adulation is better than our expectations. We have done what we could do in 14 months. If there had been more time, we would have done better. I don’t think there is such a history for a new party. This is a big achievement,” he said at his residence-cum-party office in Chennai.
On the lessons he has learnt from this poll season, Kamal said that the journey was a long one. “The lesson we have learnt is that winning over poverty is difficult. That’s the biggest lesson we’ve learnt. It is a big deal that we have made it this far amidst a cash storm.” He seemed to have been referring to the rampant cash-for-votes reported in the state prior to the polls.
He also requested the Prime Minister to keep Tamil Nadu a part of India on par with the states in which the BJP had won. Further, stating that the so-called ‘political vacuum in the state’ was a media-find, he said, “There is never a vacuum just because a leader has died. This is not the first time a leader has died. We’ve had Annadurai and Kamarajar die pretty close to each other but there was never a vacuum because the people would not allow it.”
He also added that politics was his ‘extracurricular’ duty and not a business, “Politics is not my business. I think it is wrong for politics to be a business.” Apart from politics, the actor is current producing actor Vikram’s next Kadaram Kondan which also stars his daughter Akshara Haasan.
Source: The News Minute