Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan will be entering the Rajya Sabha for the first time with the backing of Tamil Nadu’s ruling party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). The DMK has decided to give one of its four Upper House seats to Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) party as part of a pre-poll alliance forged prior to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The MNM has already approved a resolution accepting Haasan’s nomination. His political career started in 2018 with a promise of providing alternative rule. His nomination this time is his official entry into parliamentary politics.
DMK Announces Candidates for Rajya Sabha Elections
On Tuesday, DMK released its candidates for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha polls. The selected candidates are senior lawyer P Wilson, renowned poet and writer Salma, and former minister SR Sivalingam. DMK president and Chief Minister MK Stalin said in a party release that providing one seat to MNM is in keeping with their electoral understanding.
Six Tamil Nadu Rajya Sabha members will be retiring on July 24, 2025. They include PMK’s Anbumani Ramadoss and MDMK chief Vaiko. With the current Tamil Nadu Assembly strength, the DMK and its allies are poised to capture four of the six seats, while the principal opposition AIADMK, aided by the BJP and other allies, is likely to bag the remaining two.
Language Controversy
Haasan, on the other hand, ignited a political firestorm in Karnataka with a remark made at the promotional event of his upcoming release ‘Thug Life’. In addressing the Tamil adage “Uyire Urave Tamizhe” (“my life and my family”), he pointed out the presence of Kannada star Shivarajkumar and stated:
“This is my family. That’s why he (Shivarajkumar) has come here. That’s why I started my speech with life, relationship, and Tamil. Your language (Kannada) was born of Tamil, so you too are included.”
The statement led to instant reaction in Karnataka. BJP state president Vijayendra Yediyurappa described Haasan’s remarks as ‘uncultured’. He blamed the actor for ‘disrespecting’ and ‘injuring the self-respect of 6.5 crore Kannadigas’ with an attempt to ‘glorify his own mother tongue’, and called for a public apology.
With Haasan gearing up for a fresh innings in national politics, the furor over his remarks on language has introduced an element of tension into his political ascendancy.
