Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) leader and actor Kamal Haasan officially filed his nomination on Friday for the Rajya Sabha elections, set for June 19, 2025. The nomination was submitted at the Tamil Nadu State Secretariat in Chennai, where Chief Minister MK Stalin, Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin, and senior MNM leaders were also present. With this move, Haasan has formally entered the race for a seat in the Rajya Sabha.
Kamal Haasan Files Rajya Sabha Nomination
On Thursday, veteran actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) president Kamal Haasan filed his nomination for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections at the Tamil Nadu Secretariat in Chennai. He was accompanied by key political leaders, including Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, highlighting the strong alliance between DMK and MNM.
The event also witnessed the presence of senior leaders from other parties within the INDIA bloc. These included VCK chief Thol. Thirumavalavan, MDMK founder Vaiko, and Tamil Nadu Congress president K Selvaperunthagai. Their participation showed the broad political support backing Haasan’s nomination and the united front of the DMK-led alliance.
Kamal Haasan’s entry into the Rajya Sabha race comes after the DMK decided to offer one of its allotted seats to MNM. This decision is part of a larger pre-poll agreement within the INDIA alliance, aiming to strengthen opposition unity at the national level. Haasan’s nomination is seen as a significant political development, especially as MNM takes a step forward in mainstream parliamentary politics.
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Rajya Sabha Elections in Tamil Nadu Scheduled for June 19
The Rajya Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu will be held on June 19, 2025 (Thursday). To win a seat in the upper house, each candidate must secure at least 34 votes from the 234-member Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.
The DMK-led INDIA alliance, which includes DMK (133 MLAs), Congress (17), VCK (4), CPI (2), and CPM (2), holds a strong majority with a total of 158 MLAs. This clear majority gives the alliance a strong advantage and places it in a comfortable position to win four out of the six available Rajya Sabha seats.
Apart from supporting Kamal Haasan, who is contesting as the candidate from Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) under the INDIA bloc’s arrangement, the DMK has also officially nominated poet Salma, Advocate P Wilson, and SR Sivalingam for the remaining seats. With this strategy, the alliance aims to further solidify its influence at the national level through strong representation in the Rajya Sabha.
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About Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM)
Kamal Haasan founded Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) in 2018 in Madurai, with the aim of bringing clean politics, transparency, and governance reform to Tamil Nadu. Despite the star power of its leader, the party has so far seen limited electoral success. In the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, MNM secured only 2.62% of the total vote share and failed to win any seats.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, MNM chose not to contest independently. Instead, it extended full support to the DMK-led INDIA bloc and actively campaigned for its candidates. As part of this alliance, the DMK promised to back Kamal Haasan for a Rajya Sabha seat, an agreement now fulfilled with his official nomination for the upper house.
Interestingly, this political milestone for Haasan came on the same day as a major event in his film career. On Thursday, June 5, his much-awaited movie ‘Thug Life’, directed by Mani Ratnam, was released in theatres. The film created a wave of excitement across Tamil Nadu, with fans gathering in large numbers outside cinema halls. The release was celebrated with music, dancing, and enthusiastic crowds, making it a double celebration for Haasan, as both a politician and a film icon.
