CHENNAI: VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan on Wednesday appealed to DMK president M K Stalin to allow the MNM to contest in its own ‘Torchlight’ symbol.
“It may indeed be helpful for smaller parties that voluntarily come forward to contest in the DMK’s ‘Rising Sun’ symbol. But it is not acceptable to insist that parties must contest only in that symbol,” he said in a detailed statement.
Referring to Kamal Haasan’s MNM, he said, “A recognised party cannot be treated as insignificant. Denying it the opportunity to contest in its own symbol would weaken its political visibility and its democratic space.”
Thirumavalavan also said, “Forcing allies into a single symbol risks diluting their ideological clarity and weakening their grassroots connect.”
Placing the issue in a larger political context, the VCK leader warned that weakening credible allies could inadvertently benefit adversarial forces.
Thirumavalavan appealed to Chief Minister M K Stalin to adopt a more accommodative and inclusive approach in this regard.
“I urge the DMK leadership to adopt a fair and flexible approach and allow parties like MNM to contest in their own symbol,” he said.