ON MARCH 9, hundreds of young men and women filled a swanky hall in one of Chennai’s prominent hotels, awaiting the arrival of actor-director Kamal Haasan, who promised to “bring change” to politics. Kamal, known as ulaganayagan (world hero) in film circles and nammavar (our man) in the political arena, walked in two hours late, with loudspeakers blaring “Naalai namadhey” (tomorrow is ours), the campaign theme of the Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), his political party. It got the crowd excited, but they were more interested in clicking pictures of the superstar.
“Going by the present trends, Kamal’s vote share will definitely go up to 8 per cent from the 3.7 per cent he got in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. It will not be a surprise even if it touches double digits. But he will only end up a spoiler,” said political analyst Raveenthran Thuraisamy. Kamal’s recent rallies have drawn huge crowds, but observers feel he is unlikely to turn into a political phenomenon like former chief minister M.G. Ramachandran.
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