A Sulking Annamalai Waiting To Spoil BJP’s Party In Tamil Nadu?

The BJP central leadership is apparently running out of patience with former Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai. He was among a handful of leaders — nearly all past party chiefs of Tamil Nadu — who were asked to reach Delhi for a meeting this week with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda for a discussion on TN assembly elections next year. Barring Vice-President candidate CP Radhakrishnan, who was also TN BJP chief, all were expected to join the meeting. Nadda had apparently phoned Annamalai to ensure he attended the meeting. However, Annamalai, who has been sulking since the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, seemed to have other plans. Not only did he fail to show up, but also shared on X how he was preoccupied with some wedding receptions rather than attending party work. During a recent visit to TN, Shah had advised him to focus on party work. So had FM Nirmala Sitharaman, who had suggested that he give up factionalism and take everyone along. Annamalai had resented Nirmala’s suggestion so much that he had even launched a campaign against her for poking her nose in TN affairs. Delhi leaders were shocked as the FM had no stake in TN and had acted only on Shah’s behalf. BJP sources now feel Annamalai is so upset with the AIADMK-BJP pact, he will now do anything to emerge as a spoiler, halting the AIADMK-BJP in its tracks. Annamalai is aware that AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami’s tours are a big draw now and can’t tolerate a fellow Gounder (a OBC caste) doing so politically well. BJP feels he may try to bail out the DMK or Vijay’s TVK as a vote spoiler.