Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan hoisted the flag of his political party at its headquarters on Monday, marking four years of the party’s inception. Realizing a void in Tamil Nadu politics following the demise of prominent political figures J Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi, the veteran actor launched his party on February 21, 2018. Since its inception, ‘Makkal Nidhi Maiyam’ (People’s Justice Federation) candidates have contested the 2019 Parliamentary Elections, 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections and most recently the local body elections in the state.
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“Tomorrow is our slogan and we are moving towards 2024 (parliamentary elections),” he told reporters on his party’s goals ahead. Despite witnessing considerable growth across Tamil Nadu, the actor’s party has not been able to open its account in the 2019 parliamentary elections or the 2021 assembly elections. Haasan, however, put up a tough fight from Coimbatore South constituency last year and is close to the winner, BJP’s Vanathi Srinivasan. According to Haasan, his party has grown a lot for a five-year-old.
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The actor-turned-politician on Monday also visited the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu and submitted a petition, urging them to enable participatory democracy in local bodies. He pointed out that the Tamil Nadu Municipal Laws (Amendment) Act 2010 (No. 35) paved the way for the formation of Kshetra Sabha and Ward Committee for participatory democracy in corporations and municipalities. He said that, after 11 years, it has not been implemented, as the rules are yet to be formed and notified. In his letter to the Chief Secretary, he said that in Tamil Nadu nearly half the population lives in urban local bodies and they are being denied participatory democracy.