Actor Kamal Haasan, five others elected to Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu
Actor and politician Kamal Haasan and five others were on Thursday elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu, the Deccan Herald reported.
The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam backed four candidates: MP P Wilson, poet Rajathi Salma, SR Sivalingam and Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Haasan.
The remaining two candidates, IS Indaburai and M Dhanapal, were backed by the state's main Opposition party All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Their term will begin in July and end in July 2031.
B Subramaniyam, the returning officer for the Rajya Sabha polls, said that while 13 nominations were received for the election, only six were deemed eligible.
Since the number of valid nominations matched the number of seats up for election, the candidates were declared elected unopposed, The Hindu quoted Subramaniyam as saying.
The election marks the entry of Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam into the Rajya Sabha.
While the DMK's strength in the Rajya Sabha remains at 10 seats, that of the AIADMK increased by one.
Haasan was promised a seat after his party joined the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance at the state level in March 2024, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Deccan Herald reported.
Tamil Nadu has 18 seats in the Rajya Sabha. In addition to the DMK and AIADMK, the Congress and the Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) have one seat each.
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