Makkal Needhi Maiam to contest Lok Sabha polls independently, says Kamal Haasan; party not keen to 'carry burden of alliance'

A year after taking a plunge into politics, Tamil cinema star Kamal Haasan on Wednesday announced that his party Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls independently. In December last year, while announcing that MNM will contest the Lok Sabha polls, Haasan had said that his party will forge an alliance with like-minded parties. However, according to reports, he said on Wednesday that he does not want to carry the “burden of an alliance”. [caption id=“attachment_4645121” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of MNM chief Kamal Haasan. PTI[/caption] This announcement comes only a day after he met the MNM office-bearers at the party office in the Coimbatore district. The meeting saw the participation of 11 district in-charges, including Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Erode, reported PTI. Ruling out an alliance with the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, Haasan had harshly criticised the party’s response to the Tuticorin protests and cyclone Gaja. Earlier in 2018, Haasan had also said that “my colour is not saffron”. He also told the The Times of India in an interview that his party would rather fight the polls alone than ally with the DMK. Meanwhile, actor-turned-politician Prakash Raj announced his plunged into politics Wednesday, hoping to be the questioning voice. “I am contesting elections as a citizen of India, independent and without a high command,” he told The Economic Times.