CHENNAI: The BJP is set for an intensive political phase in Tamil Nadu around the Pongal festival, with a series of high-profile visits by senior national leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Union Minister Piyush Goyal, party state vice-president Karu Nagarajan said on Thursday.
Addressing reporters at Kamalalayam, TN BJP headquarters, Karu Nagarajan said the immediate focus would be on a sequence of key events beginning tomorrow, January 2. Vice President CP Radhakrishnan will visit Chennai tomorrow to attend the convocation ceremony at Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute in Maduravoyal, followed by a felicitation programme at Kalaivanar Arangam in the evening.
On January 4, Amit Shah will attend the valedictory event of BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran's 'Tamizhagam Thalainimira Tamizhanin Payanam', a statewide yatra, at a public meeting near the Pudukottai–Karaikudi bypass road. The Home Minister is expected to address the gathering and felicitate Nainar Nagenthran, with party leaders estimating a turnout of around two lakh people. Nagarajan said Shah would continue his engagements on January 5 with a visit to the Srirangam temple, followed by participation in a 'Modi Pongal' celebration in Tiruchy, where around 2,000 women are expected to take part.
He added that the party's political activities would gather further momentum after Pongal, with successive visits by Prime Minister Modi, Amit Shah and Piyush Goyal. Responding to questions, Nagarajan said there was no confirmation yet on whether AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami would attend the yatra valedictory event.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan launched a sharp attack on the ruling DMK and the INDIA bloc, accusing them of weakening national unity and failing to address public grievances. Speaking to reporters at a welfare assistance programme in KK Nagar, she alleged that protests by sanitation workers and nurses reflected the state government's administrative failures.
Tamilisai also criticised the DMK's handling of issues such as drug abuse, questioned the credibility of the INDIA bloc, and asserted that a BJP–AIADMK-led front, along with new allies, would emerge as a winning alliance in Tamil Nadu.