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Journalism of Courage
If there is one man who stands at the centre of the AIADMK-BJP falling out, by all accounts, it is K Annamalai – the IPS officer-turned-politician in his late 30s who, just one year into joining the party, was the BJP’s surprise choice as Tamil Nadu president.
Remarks by Annamalai, which the AIADMK saw as disparaging towards its icons including C N Annadurai and J Jayalalithaa, are being blamed for pushing the alliance to the breaking point.
But it isn’t the BJP leader’s first brush with alleged brashness, since joining the party in the national capital in 2020. The next year, he got a seat for the Assembly polls from Aravakurichi in western Tamil Nadu, a region considered the stronghold of his backward Gounder community. While he lost, Annamalai’s star hasn’t dimmed, thanks to his penchant for staying in the news, which is clever positioning to stand out in a political field dominated by the DMK and AIADMK, with the BJP on the margins.
Sources point to the BJP national leadership’s apparent disinterest in reining in Annamalai, despite the AIADMK signals to Delhi to do so – thus furthering the impression that he enjoys the trust of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. After the AIADMK announcement ending ties on Monday, Annamalai fended off queries saying the national leadership would react to the development.
The question now is whether the BJP’s gamble of potentially sacrificing its 2024 gains with an eye on the big game, by letting the AIADMK walk away, pay off? And whether it is right in putting almost all its bets on Annamalai?
There are many within the state BJP too who might disagree with this. Senior BJP leaders and workers have earlier voiced concerns to the party leadership over Annamalai’s relative inexperience and alleged “ignorance” of issues pertinent to a state whose politics is far removed from the BJP’s heartland way. The exodus of several leaders in the recent past from the BJP – many of them, significantly, to the AIADMK – was also blamed on Annamalai.
Given that the BJP is trying to expand its catchment area for seats for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls – anticipating some slide in the North – many question the wisdom of letting a crucial ally break away in Tamil Nadu.
However, according to quarters close to Annamalai, the difference between going into polls with the AIADMK and without might not be much for the BJP, which expected to get about 3-4 seats out of 40 in Tamil Nadu to fall in its share if they contested together.
On the other hand, say these sources, the BJP can make a significant strategic shift and test its own strength now in Tamil Nadu, a state where it has invested a lot of time and energy since J Jayalalithaa’s illness and eventual demise.
Annamalai’s youth, energy, non-conformism and non-Brahmin identity are all advantages in this. Sources said his aggressive stance on the Sanatan Dharma controversy, standing virtually alone against the might of the ruling DMK, has bolstered his image with the RSS too. The BJP believes it might even win the party some supporters among those certain sections of society who have been uncomfortable with the DMK’s “anti-Hindu” stridency.
Annamalai’s public suggestion that the Edappadi K Palaniswami-led party needed to correct its “corrupt” ways, particularly when it comes to charges of “bribing” voters during elections, also feeds into the image of an outsider, valuing principles over political niceties.
How things turn out from here might be uncertain, but in either case, for the BJP – and by extension, for Annamalai – it is a defining moment.
Plus, as observers on both sides point out, neither party has closed the possibility of a patch-up. In its criticism, the AIADMK has focused on Annamalai, staying mum on the central BJP. The top AIADMK leadership is known to be in constant touch with BJP leaders such as Piyush Goel and Vanathi Srinivasan.
And so, should the BJP return to power, the AIADMK might not find it too difficult to shed its current misgivings.
But then again, it might depend on the bargaining power the BJP, and Annamalai, hold in such a situation. According to sources, the young man in a hurry already has his eye on the big prize: contesting as chief minister candidate in the 2026 Assembly polls.
