R ARIVANANTHAM
CHENNAI, JULY 15
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is well known for pampering its best performers with coveted gubernatorial posts for veterans and berths in parliament for youngsters. As part of its ‘Operation Tamil Nadu penetration’, it had recently rewarded seniors like Ela Ganesan, C P Radhakrishnan, Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan with governor posts.
Close on these heels, Tamil Nadu BJP state president and former IPS officer K Annamalai is likely to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, where the party has 73 seats.
Further, to cash in on Tamil pride, the saffron party had organized Kashi and Saurashtra Tamil Sangamams and installed ‘Sengol’ (Sceptre) in the new parliament. To take on the mighty DMK head on, its top leaders are contemplating to field Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Ramanathapuram under which the abode of Lord Shiva, Rameswaram falls.
- Annamalai has planned to undertaking a padyatra under the name ‘En Mann En Makkal’ (My soil, my people) across Tamil Nadu since July 28
- A lot of capable leaders are there in the party to contest the 2024 polls in Coimbatore and other areas of Tamil Nadu: Annamalai
- To take on the mighty DMK head on, its top leaders are contemplating to field Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Ramanathapuram under which Rameswaram falls
Annamalai was a Karnataka cadre IPS officer who resigned from service and joined the saffron party. Ever since he became the party’s state president in Tamil Nadu, the BJP has become more aggressive and has been raising several people-centric issues, making the party a vibrant organisation.
The Tamil Nadu BJP president has been named as one of the four-member BJP delegation to participate in the policy discussion at BRICS, South Africa next week. He was also a speaker at a conference organised by the national BJP in London.
Annamalai has planned to undertaking a padyatra under the name ‘En Mann En Makkal’ (My soil, my people) across Tamil Nadu since July 28. The ‘padyatra’ will be inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Rameswaram.
According to IANS, C. Rajeev, director of the Centre for Policy and Development Studies, a Chennai-based think tank, said, “Since K. Annamalai became the state president of the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit, the party has become stronger. Has raised aggressive and several people-centric issues, including allegations of corruption against the ruling DMK. ”
He further said that if Annamalai is nominated to the Rajya Sabha, it will give a big boost to the BJP’s prospects in the state.
Incidentally, K Annamalai had said earlier that he will not contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and wants to focus more on working for the state. Addressing reporters in Coimbatore in May this year, Annamalai said he came to Tamil Nadu after resigning as an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer for a regime change.
“I am not interested in contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. A lot of capable leaders are there in the party to contest the 2024 polls in Coimbatore and other areas of Tamil Nadu. As a state president, my job is to ensure our candidates win the poll here and send them to Parliament. As a karyakarta, I have informed Delhi (party head office) as well that I look forward to working as a cadre for the 2024 polls,” he said.
