Chennai: Veteran actor Kamal Haasan made every effort to remain ideologically neutral at the launch of his political party Makkal Needhi Maiam on Wednesday, and it was perhaps this attempt that made him take the names of Arvind Kejriwal, Chandrababu Naidu, Pinarayi Vijayan and Barack Obama when asked about the leaders that have been his inspiration.
By labelling this unlikely combination of contemporary leaders, who have made a mark for completely disparate ideologies, as his heroes, Haasan took everyone present at the party launch by surprise as people are so used to politicians invoking the names of a Mahatma Gandhi, BR Ambedkar or Periyar.
In the run up to Wednesday’s launch event, Haasan, too, had repeatedly talked about how these three yesteryear leaders and their vision of upliftment of society had always inspired him. Their posters also dotted the roadsides when he took out a rally in the streets of Rameswaram and later Madurai.
But at the launch event, where Kejriwal was also present, Hassan said he would like to pick up lessons on how to function from his contemporaries. He can absorb a leftist tilt from Vijayan, an anti-corruption stand from Kejriwal, a progressive and IT-based approach from Naidu and global humanism from Obama.
Yet, the common factor in his ‘inspirations’, apart from the former US President, is that they are all in a position to take on the BJP, an indication that he could be looking to form an alternative front on the national stage. Naidu may be an outlier as he is an NDA ally for now, but he has made no bones about the strains in ties. They are also all people who have been known for non-conventional politics.
The logo of Haasan’s party, six arms interlocked with a star at the centre, is also symbolic of the approach he wishes to take. It is representative of the six southern States (including Puducherry), and denotes a unified southern coalition, states where the BJP has failed to make inroads, except Karnataka.
But the question that arises is whether this approach will pay dividends in his own state, where BJP has been a non-entity till now. Political analyst Sandeep Shastri is clear that Haasan is unclear about his approach.
“In Kamal, there is a mixing of too many metaphors, too many items in his agenda basket and at the end it makes his agenda very confusing. If he was only banking on Kamal the hero, it would have been prudent, but with that he is mixing Leftism, he is mixing hero ideology, he is mixing mentors,” he says.
To the commoner in Madurai, Kamal saying he has mentors would give a confusing signal, he feels. “His fans would say ‘you are the mentor for us’,” says Shastri. Considering Tamil Nadu’s politics has always been local-centric, invoking an Obama or Kejriwal just doesn’t gel, he adds.
So, although 20,000-plus people had gathered for his grand announcement, he still has to convert them into supporters. A few were there simply for a glimpse of their favourite film star, some felt he was the change the state needs, while others had a more wait and watch approach and said they would wait for him to implement his policies ahead of elections, and then take a call.
Haasan, after all, not only has to contend in a state that already has the tried-and-tested DMK and AIADMK parties in a thick battle, but also the promise of a party from superstar Rajinikanth.
The red, black and white in Haasan's logo are also symbolic of the Dravidian movement, and he wants to have a share of the Dravidian identity too, apart from all the other factors – a tough ask.
Political analyst N Sathiya Moorthy says his aim to join hands with the other states in the long-run to form a formidable 'southern front’ would be a tough ask, considering the diversity in these states and their individual aspirations.
“He may be keeping his options open,” said political analyst N Sathiya Moorthy on the outreach to the rest of the south. “But Kerala CM Vijayan and Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu have regional and local compulsions to not join hands, at least until Kamal proves his vote-base.”
Shastri feels that Rajinikanth has been shrewder in his approach so far. “He is trying to bring in a ‘spiritualism’ that associates with his persona of being down-to-earth, a man of the masses. That may work with the people. But an upper-caste Kamal projecting himself as a messiah, and having a left-of-centre plank – you can’t bring the charisma of an actor together this way, at least that’s why past experience in Tamil Nadu politics has shown,” says Shastri.
And then of course, apart from the charisma of Rajini and Kamal, there is the thus-far-unexplored charisma of TTV Dinakaran that is still unfolding before the voter. What does go in their favour (for all of them) is that they have four long years to build upon their charm. Assuming the current government does last its entire term.
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