K Annamalai left for London in August to attend a three-month course in International Politics at Oxford University.
Published Nov 21, 2024 | 8:00 AM ⚊ Updated Nov 21, 2024 | 8:00 AM
Annamalai, who left the state on 28 August, attended several programmes during his stay in London.
Tamil Nadu BJP state president K Annamalai is expected back in the state on 28 November after attending a three-month course in International Politics at Oxford University.
Annamalai, who left the state on 28 August, attended several programmes during his stay in London. A coordination committee has been overseeing BJP’s Tamil Nadu affairs in his absence.
The coordination committee comprised party executive committee member H Raja, state vice-presidents M Chakravarthy, P Kanakasabapathy, general secretaries M Muruganandam, Professor Rama Srinivasan, and state treasurer SR Sekar.
Meanwhile, the BJP is on a membership drive in Tamil Nadu. It has so far added 50 lakh members. Its target is one crore members.
BJP upbeat
The BJP is planning to accord a grand welcome to Annamalai on 28 November.
He will participate in a party event at the BJP headquarters, Kamalalayam, on 29 November and another one in Coimbatore on 1 December, before involving full-time in party affairs.
It has been anticipated that Annamalai, with sights set on the 2026 Assembly elections, will take up a statewide padayatra, similar to the ‘En Mann En Makkal’ march he undertook ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
“BJP has been engaged in membership drive and organizational elections over the past five months. Therefore, Annamalai will be more involved in membership and organizational elections,” Sekar said. He added that Annamalai’s focus will be on strengthening the party.
“There has never been a leader like Annamalai in the Tamil Nadu BJP before. It is true that the BJP has received a boost after his arrival. He will continue his work in the same pace when he returns to Tamil Nadu,” he said.
When Annamalai was away, Udhayanidhi Stalin became the deputy chief minister, and actor Vijay’s party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam held its first political conference, in which the actor criticised the BJP. The saffron party’s response to these two events was muted.
Meanwhile, there is a buzz that the Tamil Nadu BJP unit will undergo a revamp.
“If the BJP has plans to change its state president, Annamalai would have been changed when he went to London. The BJP definitely needs Annamalai, who got a double-digit vote bank in the 2024 parliamentary elections. I don’t think the party will change Annamalai,” political analyst and senior journalist R Ramesh said.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
