He is a former member of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia with Die Linke in Germany, and the Turkish Parliament with the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).

[1] During the 2010 election period, Atalan's opponents made reference to his association with the "Anti-Capitalist Left" current, which has been investigated for suspicion of hostility against the German constitution, but whose political goals he supports.

Also during this time, his connection to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which was in open military conflict with the Turkish government since 1984, was called into question.

[3] On 7 April 2015, Atalan was nominated by the People's Democratic Party (HDP) to their electoral list for the upcoming parliamentary election to the Grand National Assembly.

Atalan and Gülser Yıldırım, a member of the Grand National Assembly, began a hunger strike in protest against the curfew.