NEW DELHI: A day after meeting Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan met former party chief Sonia Gandhi but played down reports of a likely alliance.
“We discussed Tamil Nadu politics and general things. It is too early to talk of an alliance,” Haasan said. He termed it a courtesy call and said he was meeting them “like a family”as he had personal ties with the Gandhi family.
When asked about Haasan’s meetings with Rahul and Sonia, Congress spokesperson Pramod Tiwari evaded a direct response but said, “It is clear that the BJP is going in 2019 and the Congress is coming. There would be many more such meetings.”
Of late, Rahul had been stressing the need for an anti-BJP platform at the national level. However, Tamil Nadu has been a basket case where the grand old party has been on the margins for several decades. The state Congress unit has been content playing second fiddle to the DMK.
“We lack a popular face in TN and have done little to boost the organisation there,” said a senior AICC functionary.
Though the DMK has been attending recent Opposition conclaves, a section of the Congress is wary the TN party may be keeping its options open for the 2019 poll battle.
The Gandhis’ meetings with Haasan, who floated his own outfit MNM a few months ago, have come in this background. But Congress old-timers said too much should not be read into the interactions.
Sources said Hasan’s MNM has not been much popular with the masses as compared to actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth’s party, which has a better cadre base in the state.