A day after Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder and Rajya Sabha MP Kamal Haasan announced that his party would not contest the upcoming Assembly election, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) founder and Chidambaram MP Thol. Thirumavalavan, on Wednesday, appealed to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to realise the alliance's slogan “We will Win Together” by ensuring that MNM can fight the election under its own “Battery Torch” symbol.

In a statement, Mr. Thirumavalavan said that MNM not taking an active role in the election and supporting the alliance from outside will affect the “goodwill” of the alliance. “In the current seat-sharing negotiations, the difficulty in allocating seats to Makkal Needhi Maiam has pushed that party to a position where it has decided not to contest this election. At the same time, it has announced that it will work for the victory of the secular alliance. While we take pride in this as a civilised approach by that party and its leader, there is also concern that it may affect the goodwill of our alliance,” he said.

Mr. Thirumavalavan added that parties in alliance should not be compelled to “contest under the symbol” of another party when they wish to contest in their own symbol. “This would hinder their independent political functioning. The alliance leadership refraining from interfering in such freedom of allied parties would be a mark of respect for democracy. In this critical situation, in this righteous struggle to defeat communal, divisive, and right-wing forces, Makkal Needhi Maiam too must join hands with us and contest the election as a participant like us. That is, Mr. Kamal Haasan too must, under your leadership, wield the ideological sword to defeat ideological adversaries,” he said.

Mr. Thirumavalavan said that the strength of a party “does not solely correlate to its vote bank” but also on factors such as “ideological strength, public goodwill toward the party, and goodwill toward its leadership” also add to a party’s strength. “Let it be considered his magnanimity that Makkal Needhi Maiam has decided not to contest this election. However, it would be a mark of your greatness to embrace Mr. Kamal Haasan — who possesses ideological strength in firmly opposing communalism, a confirmed vote bank strength of around four percent, and great influence and goodwill within Tamil society — and not let him remain outside,” he said.