Actor-turned-aspiring politician Kamal Haasan has intensified his race into Tamil Nadu politics by announcing that he will begin a state-wide tour starting 21 February.
Kamal revealed this information at the cinema awards presentation ceremony of Tamil magazine Anantha Vikatan. He further said that he will disclose details of his plan soon.
Haasan announced on Tuesday, 16 January, that he would start the yatra from Ramanathapuram, his birthplace. Calling it a journey of discovery and learning, Kamal said that he would announce the name of his political party before the commencement of the yatra. He will also visit Madurai, Sivagangai and Dindigul.
"He will be visiting people from various communities personally during this trip and will work on understanding the problem plaguing politics. The motive is to build a support base through personal interaction," a source close to Haasan told TNM.
Haasan has apparently emphasised that he would distance no one as far as his life and politics is concerned.
He will not just sit in one place and do politics. He will actually visit people irrespective of religion or caste... This is not a photo opportunity of any sorts either.Kamal Haasan’s aide
The plank on which Kamal will seek support will be “development, growth and corruption free governance.”
"This yatra will not cause any controversy or seek to politicise religion or caste," says the source.
Over the past few days Kamal Haasan has been meeting many of his confidantes and has been reaching out to a number of people to understand how his journey should be charted.
Kamal's official announcement of starting his own political party comes days after Rajinikanth made his decision to enter politics clear. Kamal Haasan was presenting an award to Music director Ilayaraja when he made the announcement.
‘Maestro’ Ilayaraja, as he is often called, asked the actor why he had not informed him before taking a plunge into politics. For which Kamal replied, "It was you who first insisted that I join politics. So I will take your blessings and begin my yatra on 26 January. I will announce further details in the Anantha Vikatan magazine on 18 January."
Kamal Haasan writes a regular column in the Tamil magazine and had earlier said that the delay in the launch of the party was not due to fear, but due to the need for meticulous planning.
In November, Kamal Haasan had announced that he will be launching an app named Maiyam in January.
However, actor Rajinikanth beat him to launch his app Rajini mandram and is already working towards consolidating supporters in various districts.
(This article was originally published in The News Minute, and has been republished here with permission.)
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