Tamil Nadu: 'Caste is my biggest political rival,' says MNM chief Kamal Haasan

President of Makkal Needhi Maiyam, Kamal Haasan, campaigned for Congress' Erode East Assembly by-election candidate EVKS Elangovan, said caste is his biggest political rival. The actor-politician Kamal Haasan made the remark after launching 'Neelam Books,' a project of well-known Tamil cinema director Pa. Ranjith as part of his Neelam cultural centre.

"I've said that caste is my biggest political rival. Since I was 21 years old, I still hold that belief today, said Haasan. "After the wheel, God is man's greatest creation. If our own creation attacks us, we cannot accept it," added Kamal Haasan.

About Ranjith, Kamal Haasan said that he was the one who cultivated the formula for making an art film while also successfully popularising it to a mainstream audience.

Meanwhile, Kamal Haasan will campaign for Elangovan in five Erode locations, including Gandhi Silai Karungal Palayam, Surampatti Naalroad, Sampath Nagar, Veerapan Chathiram, and Agraharam, as per a press release. Kamal Haasan has already announced his support for the alliance candidate led by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

Previously, Kamal Haasan met Rahul Gandhi during his Bharat Jodo yatra in New Delhi and walked with him for a few kilometres on the Congress' invitation.

Overall 77 candidates are contesting the Erode (East) Assembly constituency by-election. On Friday, five independent candidates and AMMK candidate A M Siva Phrashanth withdrew their nominations from the 83 nominations accepted after scrutiny on February 8. The Erode (East) Assembly election is scheduled for February 27.

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