How can debutant K Annamalai ensure BJP’s re-entry in Tamil Nadu?

On Wednesday, K Annamalai, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Coimbatore constituency in Tamil Nadu, filed his nomination for the Lok Sabha elections 2024. “BJP is confident of winning more than 400 seats at the Center this year and this will also include its representatives.” Coimbatore,” Annamalai said while speaking to the media after submitting his election papers.

“DMK and AIADMK have joined hands to fight BJP, but our fight is against those trying to stop the development of Coimbatore or selling ganja.” “We do not talk about minorities or majorities here. Coimbatore is at risk of being targeted by fundamentalists and extremists and the state and central governments must protect all the people here,” Annamalai said in his characteristic fiery style.

K Annamalai, 38, is one such leader who has risen rapidly in the BJP and has become the perfect fit for the party’s entry into Tamil Nadu. The state, which sends 39 MPs to the Lok Sabha, does not have even one. The electoral gains in the southern states play a major role for the party in achieving its target of winning more than 370 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

BJP has a strong hold on the Hindi belt; However, it has repeatedly failed to make any significant mark in southern India. PM Narendra Modi has visited Tamil Nadu at least seven times so far in 2024. Even after the election schedule was announced, Modi chose Coimbatore for his first campaign rally.

PM Modi’s frequent visits to the state highlight that the party’s enthusiastic cadre base under the leadership of K Annamalai is in good shape and the BJP leadership trusts its ‘Singham’ leader Annamalai to ensure its hold in Tamil Nadu.

Big BJP leader ‘Singham Anna’!

Annamalai is an interesting personality. His journey has been remarkable, from being a tough police officer, where he earned the nickname ‘Singham Anna’, to becoming a flamboyant politician. He hails from a simple farming family of Karur district, studied mechanical engineering from a premier institute in Coimbatore and did MBA from IIM-Lucknow. Annamalai cracked UPSC and became a 2011 batch IPS in Karnataka cadre.

Also read: Will BJP be able to achieve its target of more than 370 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections?

In his eight-year career, Annamalai gained a reputation as a tough policeman, taking covert action on the sale of gutkha, campaigning against drug abuse and many other actions as an IPS. However, he left the force in 2019 by resigning as the Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru.

In 2020 he joined the BJP and within no time, he rose to the top with a sole focus on increasing the party’s footprint in the state. He became the youngest BJP state president. However Annamalai lacks electoral victory; His fiery, confrontational approach and the encouragement he has given to the BJP on the ground have earned him praise and followers from the youth.

Annamalai’s tireless efforts to expand the BJP’s influence in Tamil Nadu have been evident through initiatives such as her massive “En Mana, En Makkal” padayatra, which covered all 234 constituencies in the state. This grassroots approach has received widespread support.

The fact that despite losing the 2021 assembly elections, he has been nominated to the Lok Sabha from the Coimbatore constituency emphasizes the BJP’s strong support for the young leader.

Why is Coimbatore seat important for BJP?

Winning the Coimbatore Lok Sabha seat will mean the re-entry of BJP in Tamil Nadu. The BJP’s association with Coimbatore dates back to 1998, when 12 bomb blasts took place in the city, killing 58 people and injuring more than 200. The attacks took place during the visit of senior BJP leader and then Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani to the city and the blasts were reportedly targeted. The election meeting in which Advani was scheduled to participate. PM Modi made sure to pay tribute to the dead during his recent visit to Coimbatore.

Notably, the BJP won the Coimbatore seat in 1998 and 1999. Communal sensitivity helped BJP gain the Hindu vote bank. However, since then the BJP has not been able to make any significant electoral gains in the state or rather in South India.

Tamil Nadu politics has always been dominated by the two major Dravidian parties, DMK and AIADMK. However, since K Annamalai joined BJP, he has left no stone unturned to activate the dormant BJP in the state.

What do experts say

Political strategist Prashant Kishor, while talking to the media recently, said that there is every possibility of BJP’s vote share increasing to double digits in Tamil Nadu in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. During the 2014 general elections, the BJP’s vote share in Tamil Nadu was 5.5 per cent and in 2019 it fell to 3.66 per cent.

Political commentator Ashok Wankhede claimed that BJP’s target of winning more than 370 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha is not possible. “They need to fill 67 more seats, and currently the southern states are the only region where the BJP can get more seats. “However, the chances are very slim.” “In states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala or Telangana, with the presence of strong regional parties and Congress, BJP can increase its vote share with extensive campaigning and excellent election management. But it is difficult to win more number of seats,” Wankhede said.

BJP is contesting on 23 seats in Tamil Nadu for the upcoming Lok Sabha. It is also in alliance with the New Justice Party and other smaller parties.

Only time can tell whether the efforts of Annamalai, the main candidate and face of BJP in Tamil Nadu, will lead to the party’s electoral victory or not.

Lok Sabha elections will be held in Tamil Nadu in a single phase on April 19. The results will be declared on June 4.