Tamil actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder Kamal Haasan has officially entered national politics. On Friday, he took oath as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament.
He chose to take his oath in Tamil, which received loud and supportive thumps on the tables from fellow MPs, showing their appreciation and respect.
After taking oath, the 69-year-old actor expressed his feelings to the media outside Parliament. “I feel very proud and honoured,” he said with a smile.
This marks his first time holding a national legislative role.
Kamal Haasan got nomination to the Rajya Sabha with the support of the DMK-led alliance. The ruling alliance had promised him a seat as part of a deal during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. MNM supported the alliance but did not contest.
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Haasan filed his official nomination on June 6 at the Tamil Nadu Secretariat. The event saw Chief Minister MK Stalin, Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin. It also had leaders from alliance parties like Thol. Thirumavalavan (VCK), Vaiko (MDMK), and Tamil Nadu Congress chief Selvaperunthagai.
To win a Rajya Sabha seat in Tamil Nadu, a candidate needs at least 34 votes in the 234-member state Assembly. With strong numbers from the DMK-led INDIA bloc (which includes 133 DMK MLAs, 17 Congress, 4 VCK, 2 CPI, and 2 CPM), the alliance was comfortably positioned to win four out of the six available seats.
On June 12, Kamal Haasan and five others were declared elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha. The official election certificates were handed over by Returning Officer Subramani at the Chennai Secretariat.
The other newly elected MPs from Tamil Nadu include Poet Salma (also known as A Rokkaiah Malik), SR Sivalingam, and P Wilson (starting his second term) from the DMK. From the AIADMK side, IS Inbadurai and Dhanapal were also elected.
Tamil Nadu’s Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin and several Members of Parliament were present at the certificate ceremony.
Though MNM hadn’t won any seats in the 2021 Assembly elections, it had earned 2.62% of the total vote share.