Chennai:

Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan’s party Makkal Needhi Maiam (MKM) on Monday announced contesting on 154 out of 234 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu assembly elections. The party left the remaining 80 seats for its two alliance partners – All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi and Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi – that will contest on 40 seats each.

The MNM had secured around 4 per cent votes in 2019 Lok Sabha election, with its share going as high as 10 per cent in the urban pockets.

Dr R Mahendran, MNM vice-president and its candidate from Coimbatore, had clocked 1.45 lakh votes or 11.6% of the total vote share the constituency.

The party has adopted a unique ticket distribution system where it launched an online system for people to apply as candidates and interviewed the shortlisted ones to be fielded as candidates.

The MNM is raising corruption, jobs, developing villages and people-friendly e-governance as key issues. It has promised salaries to homemakers and free computers with internet at all homes as a public resource to help people access government schemes easily.