The biggest challenge Kamal Haasan faces is how to convert his huge fan base into the cadre of a cohesive political unit, say political analysts.
Bengaluru: Tamil megastar Kamal Hassan may have made his political debut with the launch of his own party, Makkal Needhi Maiam (People’s Justice Centre), but the road ahead seems to be full of obstacles.
ThePrint lists the challenges that the actor-turned-politician could face in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the 2021 Tamil Nadu assembly polls.
Kamal the actor v/s Kamal the politician
According to political analysts, the biggest challenge Kamal Haasan faces is how to convert his huge fan base into the cadre of a cohesive political unit.
“Kamal clearly needs to enumerate what’s new and what he can bring to the plate apart from his claim of clean and decent politics,” said senior journalist K.N. Arun.
“He has come across more as a social service organisation than a party which has a clear vision,” Arun added.
Kamal’s close friend and film director K. Hariharan has a different take. Happy with the way Kamal has forayed at the right time, especially when there is a political vacuum after the death of former chief minister J. Jayalaithaa, he feels that the Kamal can make his mark if he positions himself in the right way.
“At the moment, I would say he is on a par with Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee or Naveen Patnaik,” Hariharan said.
David versus Goliath
“This is your party. I am not your leader; I am just an instrument of change,” Kamal said addressing his supporters in Madurai Wednesday.
However, questions are being raised whether he will be able to change the course of politics in Tamil Nadu, which has been choosing alternately between the two major Dravidian parties — the AIADMK and the DMK — for decades, barring the 2016 assembly election.
Also, when smaller parties such as Vijayakanth’s DMDK or Dr A. Ramadoss-led PMK have not been able to match the voter base of the two main parties, it is yet to be seen whether Kamal Haasan is able to make a difference and become an agent of change, say political observers.
Raising funds could be an uphill task
Many of his well-wishers have been left wondering how Kamal would generate funds for his party.
So far, he has taken a strong stance against corruption as he has reiterated on several occasions that political parties in Tamil Nadu are extremely corrupt and he is here to cleanse the system.
“Kamal will have to take a very non-corrupt way forward to generate funds for his party,’’ said Hariharan.
He plans to generate money through crowd-funding and by that he is trying to replicate the AAP model.
Having Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal by his side the day he launched his party is his way of telling people that he wants to be like him, Hariharan said.
Although the AIADMK is quite critical of the Kamal’s crowd-funding strategy, they accept the fact that he can create a slight dent in the urban vote bank.
“The little dent that he can cause will be only among the urban, educated youth segment. He is not a mass leader like Vijayakanth; he is aspiring to be a class leader,” said K. Swaminathan of the AIADMK.
How he will position himself
How Kamal positions himself will be very vital as the voters in Tamil Nadu are looking for a change, according to political pundits.
Kamal has made five major promises during the launch of his party — fighting corruption, reducing caste and religious differences, creating a party that will last several generations and consolidating his force in all the six south Indian states.
“Not left or right, I am the centre”, was how Kamal described his ideological position Wednesday. But he has not spelt out yet whether he would align himself with the DMK or position himself against both major parties in Tamil Nadu.
Kamal meeting DMK supremo Karunanidhi, DMDK’s Vijayakanth, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has sent out confusing signals.
“He has clearly said that his rival is AIADMK, but why has he not revealed who are his friends,” Swaminathan asked.
The DMK, however, is adopting a wait-and-watch policy. When asked about Kamal Haasan’s proximity to Karunanidhi, T.K.S. Elangovan of the DMK claimed that it is for Kamal to decide whether he wants to align or not.
Rajinikanth versus Kamal
This is inevitable as the two superstars will now compete in the real world just as they have been doing in the reel world.
According to political analysts, Rajinikant has a more dedicated fan base that could work in his favour. “Like MGR, Rajinikanth has built an onscreen image of being a do-gooder,” said Arun.
“He has already cultivated that image through his movies and so it will be easier to penetrate into the minds of the voters,” he added.
Kamal will have to create that image, convert his fan base to political workers and also convert the political vacuum in the state to his favour.
Hariharan argued that compared to Rajinikant, Kamal Haasan has a great stage presence. How he conducts his rhetoric will work to his advantage.
“The ability to voice your opinions in an effective manner is the fundamental necessity of any leader,” Hariharan said.
“Kamal has the ability to drive the imagination of the people from a podium which has always been a part of Tamil political culture. This is something Rajini lacks in and he is aware of this,” said Hariharan.
According to Hariharan, Rajinikanth has realised that if he launches his party he will have to align himself with somebody, who will take the stage for him.