CHENNAI: Bringing an end to the days long wrangling at various levels, which earned the wrath of the national leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the State unit of the BJP finally announced its list of candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu, on Friday (April 3).
While there are several senior leaders in fray, including Union Minister L Murugan, State unit president Nainar Nagenthran, and former Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, the attention is firmly on the one name that is not there: former State president and vocal rebel, K Annamalai.
LIST ON EXPECTED LINES
As expected, Tamilisai is contesting from Mylapore, Murugan from Avinashi (reserved), Vanathi Srinivasan from Coimbatore North, and Nainar from Sattur. There are 5 women candidates in the list of 27 that the party released on Friday. Three sitting MLAs have been re-nominated, and former Congress MLA S Vijayadharani has been nominated from Vilavancode, which she once represented in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
However, what has caught attention is the absence of Annamalai from the list. DT Next had earlier reported how the BJP state unit was caught up in intense wrangling over Coimbatore North, for which both Annamalai and Vanathi tussled. After the State-level leaders failed to achieve a breakthrough, Union Minister and the BJP’s in-charge for Tamil Nadu election, Piyush Goyal stepped in.
But the efforts were in vain, and the impasse continued.
With the BJP missing out on Singanallur and Kavundampalayam in the seat-sharing arrangement with the AIADMK, the constituency was allocated to the party and set aside for Vanathi Srinivasan, a sitting MLA. However, Annamalai also sought the seat, leading to the deadlock.
Revealing the growing unease within the party over seat-sharing and delays in candidate selection, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cancelled his proposed roadshow and campaign in Mylapore. Party sources told DT Next on Thursday that he would only meet key State leaders on Saturday to review election preparedness.
Speaking to Thanthi TV, BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan, the NDA’s candidate for Mylapore constituency in Chennai, claimed that Annamalai’s exclusion was based purely on the panel’s collective decision-making process, with the final call resting with the central leadership. She also said that the ticket allocation is ultimately determined by merit, adding that those who work hard for the party will be rewarded with opportunities.