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Confident BJP will cross 140 mark in Karnataka, form govt on its own: co-incharge Annamalai

Annamalai says 'nobody is trying to vilify Tipu Sultan' in context of Karnataka, AIADMK 'brings lot to table' & BJP 'more relevant' in Tamil Nadu than any other party.

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Chennai: Expressing confidence about the prospects of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka, which is set to go to the polls later this year, the party’s Tamil Nadu unit chief K. Annamalai said he is confident that the BJP will “come to power on its own and cross the 140 mark (of the total 234 seats)” in Karnataka.

In an interview with ThePrint, the IPS officer-turned-politician who was appointed the BJP’s Karnataka co-incharge earlier this month also spoke at length about BJP’s equation with its allies in Tamil Nadu, and his views on Tipu Sultan and the Mekedatu project.

The outcome of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will mark a “tectonic shift” in Tamil Nadu politics, Annamalai said, adding that 50 per cent of voters in Tamil Nadu fall in the 19-35 age bracket and that “18-24 metrics connect” with the party. “Being the watchdog of democracy, I would say BJP is at the number one position. Forget MLAs, forget MPs, forget metrics, is BJP currently relevant in Tamil Nadu? Yes! More than any other party,” he said.

Annamalai (38) went further to say the BJP is poised to thrive in Tamil Nadu where Dravidian parties have dominated the political scene for several decades. “BJP’s method is right. It’s only a matter of time,” he said, while also inserting a caveat — the BJP “can’t dismiss even the smallest party in the alliance.”

On the BJP’s equation with its ally All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), he said alliances “work if we have a sense of respect for one another” and that “all partners bring something to the table”. Praising the AIADMK, Annamalai said it is a “bigger party, more structured, with more members in the state”.

“The AIADMK brings a lot to the table. A pre-eminent party that formed the government five times, it kept Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in check and has intact loyal voters,” he said. AIADMK interim general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami had said earlier this month that the party will continue to be in an alliance with the BJP for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Asked if the two have been able to work out a seat-sharing formula, he said there are still 13 months to go for the general election and that these decisions will be made by the BJP’s parliamentary board. In 2019, the BJP had fielded candidates on five of the state’s 39 Lok Sabha seats as part of its seat-sharing arrangement with the AIADMK and could be hoping for more seats in the general election to be held next year.

On his views about the Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) vs O Paneerselvam (OPS) tussle within the AIADMK, Annamalai said, “That is the least of BJP’s worries. It is up to their party, cadres and leaders to decide.”

“We only said that we did not want a different symbol for the Erode bypoll. Eighty-seven per cent of bypolls in Independent India have been won by the ruling party. In Tamil Nadu, it is more, especially when money power comes in,” he added.

Launching a scathing attack on the DMK, Annamalai accused the ruling party of “using all its money and muscle power in the last 20 days” in the run-up to the Erode East bypoll.

“Even after 22 months in power, the DMK was not able to say a single thing that they have done for the people. Stalin, on the last day of the campaign, announced that Rs 1,000 will be given from next month. Why was the announcement made in Erode on the last day of camping,” asked Annamalai, terming it a violation of the model code of conduct. 

The Tamil Nadu BJP chief also accused the DMK of engaging in “dynasty politics”. 

“Father is an MLA and then the son also becomes an MLA, it is not the dynasty politics we are talking about. In this case, in an electoral democracy, people accept you and vote for you. But in Tamil Nadu the tentacles are spreading and here, a family — son, son-in-law, etc. — are deciding what is right for them and what is right for them won’t be right for the whole state.”


Also Read: Laying ground for 2024 or just ‘photo ops’? Stalin’s field trip through 4 districts sparks buzz


‘Nobody trying to vilify Tipu Sultan’: Annamalai

On the party entrusting him with the responsibility of overseeing its campaign in Karnataka and working with all of his “ex-bosses”, Annamalai said it is a great opportunity for him to learn. “The big guns think about organisational methods and techniques and I understand social media, what works with the youth, and how they think,” he said.

About the BJP straddling a tightrope with former chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa on the one side and incumbent CM Basavaraj Bommai on the other, Annamalai told ThePrint, “Yediyurappa is the tallest leader and he voluntarily felt that he had to take a break from the rigours of governance. He took a call that this will be his last election.”

Terming the octogenarian an irreplaceable warhorse, Annamalai said Yediyurappa “wanted to take a back seat” and it was the veteran leader himself who “proposed” Bommai’s name as his successor.

Karnataka functions as six different regions all of which vote differently, he said, adding that the BJP needs a different narrative in each of the six.

On the controversy over the legacy of 18th-century Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan, Annamalai said “nobody is attempting to vilify Tipu Sultan per se”.

“What Tipu did in Kodagu is unacceptable but what happened with the pontiff of Sringeri mutt is different when Tipu apologised and he gifted him gold. The BJP is not trying to put anyone at the centre of its narrative, it is Congress which is doing that,” he said. The former IPS officer had to fend off criticism after an old video of him appreciating Tipu Sultan resurfaced on social media last month.

As president of the Tamil Nadu BJP and the party’s Karnataka co-incharge, Annamalai also conveyed his stance on the Mekedatu reservoir project. “We were against it as it was against the Supreme Court guideline at some point in time. Does it mean Annamalai is against the people of Karnataka? No. We don’t want both sides to suffer. Let a neutral arbiter come and decide what is good for both sides,” he told ThePrint.

Commenting on the tussle between governors and elected governments in non-BJP-ruled states, he said the role of the governor has changed. “They are not political agents. They are people of mettle. They have a voice and if the government gets rattled, it only shows how insecure governments are.”

Asked about the road ahead for him after votes are cast in Karnataka, Annamalai said he plans to announce the dates for his statewide padyatra in April. “It will be a precursor to the 2024 and 2026 elections,” he said, adding that the idea is to rekindle the curiosity of Tamil Nadu’s voters.

(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)


Also Read: Chennai mayor front & centre, DMK’s latest bid to woo women voters ahead of Erode East bypoll


 

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