CHENNAI (TIP): Kamal Haasan’s telegenic charm was on full display on Feb 21 night when he told a rapturous crowd of supporters in Madurai that his new party would be called the Makkal Needhi Maiam.

The Tamil words roughly translate into People’s Justice Party, or People’s Justice Front, although technically, “maiam” means centre.

“The newly founded Makkal Needhi Miram is your party. It’s here to stay, and to make the change we all aspire for. Guide us to serve you,” Kamal Haasan wrote on Twitter, even as he was joined on stage in Madurai by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party’s Tamil Nadu unit chief, Somnath Bharti.

He explained that people had asked him if he was on the Right or the Left. Maiam means “centre,” and that’s why he named his party Makkal Needhi Maiam, he said.

“Six hands is the representation of the six states and the star in the centre is you,” he added.

Earlier, Kamal met former president APJ Abdul Kalam’s elder brother and other family members at the residence here.

“Greatness can come from simple beginnings,” he said.

“Actually it will come only from simplicity. Glad to start my journey from a great man’s simple abode,” the actor added in a tweet.