Kamal Haasan takes political plunge, launches People's Justice Party in Madurai

Leading actor Kamal Haasan today formally entered politics by launching a party named Makkal Needhi Maiam (People's Justice Party) at a public meeting in Madurai. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was present at the meeting where the actor said he is "going to create a people's government" amid much fanfare. Haasan had said on Tuesday that he in entering politics "only because the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party is bad".

Here are the top developments leading up to Kamal Haasan's party launch:

1. "This is not a one day celebration. With this joy comes great responsibility. I am not going to tell you what to do, I'm going to listen. I am duty bound for my Tamil motherland," Haasan said at the launch of his party today.

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2. The actor began his political journey on Wednesday by visiting the house of A P J Abdul Kalam in Rameswaram, describing the former president as his "role model". He then undertook a 170-km-long road journey to reach Madurai where he announced the name of his party and unveiled its flag.

3. To the supporters who had gathered at the village in Rameswaram, Haasan said he is no more a movie star but a lamp in the homes of people. "Like the lamp in your homes you should protect me," the 62-year-old actor told the gathering on his way to Madurai.

4. Haasan was greeted with chants of 'Nammavar', which translates to our man in English. "It is the name of a film. My fans are aware of it. It's owning me up, it's our man," the actor said.

5. Before starting his road journey, Haasan called on DMK president M Karunanidhi at his Gopalapuram residence to seek his blessings. Stalin was also present there.

6. Senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily said that Haasan's party in Tamil Nadu does not have much political space to grow. Moily said DMK and AIADMK are dominant regional political parties in the state. "So, I don't think there will be much (political) space left for other regional parties, unless they align with these mainstream regional parties (DMK and AIADMK)," Moily said.

7. Bharatiya Janata Party's Tamil Nadu unit leader Tamilisai Soundararajan told reporters that Kamal appeared to have "started a political party to compete against someone", an apparent reference to superstar Rajinikanth who has also announced plans to launch his political entry. On the other hand, Dalit party leader Thol Thirumavalan told reporters that Kamal and Rajinikanth are agents of the BJP to affect DMK in Tamil Nadu.

8. Haasan had dropped hints of taking the political plunge in September last year. As the first step, the actor launched a mobile application of his political party on his birthday on November 7, 2017. The actor said that the app will help him stay connected to his fans as well as help him book-keeping.

9. Kejriwal had called on Haasan in September, 2017, and had then said it was "important at this point when the country is facing strong forces of corruption and communalism, all like minded people should talk to each other on these issues and work in tandem."

10. Besides Kejriwal, Haasan also met the chief ministers of Kerala and West Bengal, Pinarayi Vijayan and Mamata Banerjee, respectively, and 'superstar' Rajinikanth ahead of his political foray.