Vishal
Vishal.PR Handout

Actor Vishal, who is the president of the Tamil Nadu Producers' Council and secretary of the Nadigar Sangam, has overtaken Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan in politics by deciding to contest the RK Nagar by-election. The actor will be filing his nomination on Monday, December 4, as an independent candidate.

The multifaceted personality made the surprising announcement on Saturday, December 2 that he would contest the RK Nagar by-election. Vishal will seek the blessings of his parents before filing the nomination papers.

He has started the day by praying at a temple and paying his respects at the Kamaraj Memorial in T Nagar. He will be also visiting the memorials of the MGR, J Jayalalithaa and Annadurai before filing the nomination papers at 3.30 pm.

Vishal has stated that he has no big plans in politics and wants to be the voice of the people in RK Nagar constituency. "I want to be the representative of the people and I'm not going to be a full-time politician. I have no long-term plan. It is just a gut feeling to contest the election," News18 quotes him as saying.

People like Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former President Dr APJ Abdul Kamal are his inspirations. Actors like Khushboo, Arya and Prakash Raj are expected to put their weight behind the actor.

Tamil actors in the state are not averse to politics. MGR, Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa remain the most popular names from film industry, who went on to became chief ministers of Tamil Nadu.

Currently, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, the two present icons of Kollywood, are getting ready to take a plunge into politics. While Rajni is expected to announce his entry in January 2018, Kamal Haasan has already announced his entry in November 2017.

The RK Nagar assembly seat is vacant after the death of J Jayalithaa. E Madhusudanan from the AIADMK, N Marudu Ganesh from the DMK and AIADMK rebel leader TTV Dhinakaran among the others, are contesting the by-poll, which will be held on December 21.

The counting of votes is scheduled for December 24.

Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal has welcomed Vishal to politics. He tweeted, "Welcome @VishalKOfficial. Ur entry in politics will inspire many youngsters. Lets meet up when u come to Del next. [sic]"

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