Kamal Haasan targets Muslim, Dalit vote banks in TN polls

Chennai, March 13 : Makkal Needhi Maiam’s (MNM) chief Kamal Haasan is expecting to make inroads into the Muslim and Dalit vote banks in Tamil Nadu, which is quite vital for electoral gains in the April 6 Assembly polls.
Haasan, who is a Brahmin himself, has been vocal in extending his support to both the Muslim and Dalit communities.
During the election campaign in the 2019 general elections, the actor-turned-politician, while speaking at a public rally at Aruvarakurichy which has a large Muslim presence, had said that the first “terrorist” of the country was a Hindu in an oblique reference to Nathuram Godse.
Although the statement had not endeared Haasan to the Muslim community, but his actions and support on several issues have made the community feel that he will support them.
Abdul Basith Khan, a Muslim trader and an activist of the Jamat Islami Hind, while speaking to IANS said: “Of course we love and respect Kamal Haasan as he had publicly stated that the seeds of extremism in India were sown by Godse by murdering Mahatma Gandhi.” There are around 5.85 per cent Muslims in Tamil Nadu, going by the 2011 census.