NEW DELHI: Renowned actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief Kamal Haasan on Friday took oath as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha, marking a key milestone in his political journey. He was elected unopposed to the Upper House on June 12, backed by the DMK-led alliance, which had promised him a seat in return for MNM’s support during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Haasan took the oath in Tamil and expressed pride in entering Parliament. “I am very proud and honoured,” he said after the ceremony.
The actor filed his nomination papers on June 6 at the Tamil Nadu Secretariat in the presence of Chief Minister MK Stalin, Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin, and senior leaders from DMK allies, including VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan, MDMK general secretary Vaiko, and TN Congress president K Selvaperunthagai.
Reacting to Haasan’s entry into the Rajya Sabha, CM Stalin posted on ‘X’ that the newly elected MPs from his party would be a “new voice” for Tamil Nadu in Parliament. “Our MPs are resounding the voice of Tamil Nadu’s rights,” he said, lauding outgoing MP Vaiko and welcoming the new members, including Kamal Haasan.
In the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, a candidate requires 34 votes to win a Rajya Sabha seat. With 158 MLAs, the DMK-led INDIA bloc (DMK-133, Congress-17, VCK-4, CPI-2, CPM-2) was comfortably placed to win four of the six seats.
Along with Haasan, five others were elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu — DMK’s poet Salma (Rokkaiah Malik), SR Sivalingam, P Wilson (re-elected for a second term), and AIADMK’s IS Inbadurai and Dhanapal. Election certificates were issued to the winners by Returning Officer Subramani at the Secretariat.
MNM had not contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and had extended full support to the DMK-led alliance. In the 2021 Assembly elections, the party had secured a 2.62% vote share.