There has been a war of words between supporters and adversaries of the party’s state president K. Annamalai.
Is Annamalai a game changer or spoiler?
The 2024 Lok Sabha election has indeed been a high stakes battle for the BJP in Tamil Nadu.
There has been a buzz around Annamalai ever since he was appointed as the party’s state chief in July 2021. His aggressive style of politics rubbed the wrong sides of political rivals and also allies.
The AIADMK last year walked out of NDA largely blaming Annamalai for it. He was unmindful of the AIADMK’s exit from the alliance.
This year, for the first time, the BJP went to the polls in Tamil Nadu, heading the NDA.
The first attack on Annamalai after the poll results came from outside the party, AIADMK.
Within the BJP, Tamilisai Soundararajan was among those who fired the first salvo against Annamalai.
Empirical data reveals that while the party lost in all the 39 constituencies in Tamil Nadu, for the first time, the BJP registered a double-digit vote share in Tamil Nadu, polling 11.24% of votes. It is a very significant number considering that it was achieved without being an ally of Dravidian parties.
Script and Presentation: D. Suresh Kumar
Videography: Thamodharan B.
Production: Shibu Narayan
Published - June 13, 2024 09:52 pm IST
