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Candidates from DMK and AIADMK, including Kamal Haasan, filed nominations for Tamil Nadu’s Rajya Sabha elections. DMK’s nominees focus on social representation, while tensions rise within AIADMK over seat allocations amid upcoming elections.
Chennai:
In a significant political development, candidates from both the ruling DMK and opposition AIADMK – including actor-politician Kamal Haasan – filed their nominations today for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from Tamil Nadu.
The DMK has fielded four candidates, with sitting MP and senior advocate P Wilson nominated for a second term. Internationally acclaimed poet Rokiah Malik, popularly known as Salma, and former MLA Sivalingam from Salem have also been nominated.
As part of its alliance with Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), the DMK has allotted one Rajya Sabha seat to Kamal Haasan, marking his formal elevation to the upper house of Parliament.
The choices are aimed at the 2026 assembly elections. Two of the DMK’s nominees come from minority communities – Wilson, a Christian, is well known for securing major legal wins for the party, including orders enabling the burial of former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi along Marina Beach and the recent court ruling limiting gubernatorial interference in state affairs. Salma, from the Muslim community, is a celebrated feminist writer and literary figure, whose nomination underscores the DMK’s continued focus on social representation.
Sivalingam, the third DMK candidate, is from the AIADMK-dominated western belt, and is seen as a strategic choice aimed at strengthening the party’s foothold in that region – particularly after the DMK managed to win only one of the eleven assembly seats in Salem, in 2021.
Kamal Haasan’s nomination comes as part of the DMK-MNM alliance that was formalised ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Responding to criticism for aligning with the DMK – a party he once vocally opposed – Haasan said, “This is the need of the hour,” citing the importance of uniting opposition forces against the BJP.
Meanwhile, the AIADMK has named two candidates – Inbadurai, the head of its legal wing and a Christian from the influential Nadar community in southern Tamil Nadu and M Dhanapal, a former MLA from a Scheduled Caste background.
However, tensions appear to be simmering within the AIADMK-led alliance. The DMDK, led by Premalatha Vijayakanth, has expressed discontent over being denied a Rajya Sabha seat, despite claiming it was assured one. While AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami dismissed speculation, insisting “all is fine,” Premalatha hinted at uncertainty, stating the DMDK would announce its alliance decision “later.”
