Kamal Haasan to Rajya Sabha; DMK announces candidates, elections on June 19

CHENNAI: The DMK has announced the candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections. One of the four seats of the party has been reserved for Makkal Needhi Maiam leader and actor Kamal Haasan. The other DMK candidates are P Wilson, S R Sivalingam and Rokkiah Malik known as poet Salma. Kamal Haasan has been allotted seat as part of an electoral alliance with his party.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) will field four candidates in the Rajya Sabha elections to be held on June 19. DMK candidates will contest in three of these four seats. As per the existing agreement, one seat has been allotted to the Makkal Needhi Maiam party.

The election dates for eight Rajya Sabha seats, including six seats in Tamil Nadu, were announced by the commission yesterday. This paved the way for Kamal's entry into the Rajya Sabha. A Rajya Sabha member needs 34 votes in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly to win. According to this, DMK, which has 159 assembly seats, can win four.

Considering the understanding with DMK, Makkal Needhi Maiam did not contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. DMK had asked Kamal, who was contesting against BJP state president Annamalai in Coimbatore, to withdraw. Instead, it offered a Rajya Sabha seat. However, DMK had also stated that the seat would be for Kamal only.

After facing defeat in the first assembly elections in which Makkal Needhi Maiam was formed, Kamal stood with the India Front in the Lok Sabha elections. As part of this, he worked for the front's victory. There were rumors that he would contest on any of the Congress seats at that time. However, at that stage, Kamal was not ready to go to the Lok Sabha.