Murugan surprise choice for TN BJP president

Murugan had been practising as an advocate at the Madras High Court before being appointed the vice-chairman of the NCSC. He holds a Masters’ degree in International Law.

Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami congratulated Murugan on his appointment and wished him success. Several leaders, including state BJP leaders H Raja and Vanathi Srinivasan also congratulated the new BJP chief. “Congratulations to the new BJP chief Murugan and the state BJP unit will now emerge as a great force in TN,” Vanathi tweeted.

Murugan’s appointment also came as a surprise for many BJP workers who were hoping for a prominent face. According to Kamalalayam, BJP headquarters sources, Murugan was in the race but general perception was that Nainar Nagendran, Vanathi Srinivasan, Pon Radhakrishnan and KT Raghavan had an edge over him. The first challenge for the new BJP president would be the urban local body polls. His responsibilities would include holding talks with alliance partners on seat sharing and discussing poll strategies for the upcoming 2021 polls. “Factors like poll alliance, particularly wooing Rajinikanth towards the saffron alliance, fighting the DMK-Congress combination and countering the hate campaign by pro-Tamil parties will be the top challenges awaiting the new BJP chief. The Dalit face of the party can woo Dalit votes in TN,” a senior BJP leader said. “More importantly, he is stepping into the shoes of Soundararajan, who managed to keep the party in the limelight throughout her term.”