'Morphing into a fan club': MNM Vice President Mahendran quits
T
he Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), floated by actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan, was being converted into a fan club at the instance of the party's campaign consultancy organisation and its founder's advisor, Vice President R.Mahendran said on Thursday as he quit the party.
In his resignation letter from the party post and primary membership, Mahendran said from June 2020 onwards, the multi-faceted MNM was being converted into a fan club by Sankhya Solutions (political campaign consultants) and Kamal Haasan's advisor and ex-TV media person Mahendran.
The MNM suffered a rout in the recently-concluded Tamil Nadu Assembly elections with Kamal Haasan himself losing the poll in Coimbatore (South).
Mahendran recalled the suggestion made to Kamal Haasan to contest in Chennai or in two seats - Coimbatore (South) and in Chennai, but he ignored it.
According to him, there is a decline in Kamal Haasan's tenacity of purpose "which is buried under a style of operation that reeks of non-democratic manner of running a political party".
Mahendran said after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the party engaged political strategist Prashant Kishor's IPAC but later Kamal Haasan had brought in Sankhya Solutions to manage the party's assembly poll campaign.
Sankhya Solutions and Kamal Haasan's advisor did not know or understand how to enhance "Brand Kamal", he claimed.
Mahendran said Kamal Haasan's failure and the party's failure in the Assembly polls can be road mapped to the suggestions made by the poll consultants and the actor's advisor.
According to Mahendan, many other office bearers of the party were of the same view but did not voice them fearing consequences.
Mahendran, in his resignation letter, also told Kamal Haasan that senior party officials were not consulted on electoral alliances and the decision to give away 100 seats to allies was a shocker, damaging the party's image in the minds of people.
Bluntly telling Kamal Haasan that he can teach anyone in the party about honesty and integrity, Mahendran added that he is quitting the party with his head held high.
Meanwhile several office bearers of MNM submitted their resignations to Kamal Haasan so as to enable him to rejig the party.
A party spokesperson told IANS that except Mahendran, none of the other office bearers have exited the party and they have resigned their positions so that reorganisation can be carried out.
He added that Kamal Haasan will decide on the resignation of Mahendran.
✔️ 'Morphing into a fan club': MNM Vice President Mahendran quits
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