Thrissur: BJP state chief K. Annamalai, Union Minister L. Murugan, and former Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan feature in the BJP list of nine candidates from Tamil Nadu for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Annamalai is contesting from Coimbatore, one of the key constituencies in Tamil Nadu’s western region. In 1998, a series of blast had killed 58 people ahead of BJP heavyweight L.K. Advani’s election meeting.
C. P. Radhakrishnan of the BJP had won from the constituency in 1998 and 1999. Though he lost in 2014 and 2019, the BJP heavyweight had secured second place.
On Monday, PM Narendra Modi held a rally in the constituency as the BJP looks to expand its footprint in Tamil Nadu. Later, the prime minister paid tribute to the victims of the blast.
Annamalai thanked the BJP’s central leadership for the nomination. “Heartfelt thanks to our beloved PM Modi for constituting his faith in me and making me contest from Coimbatore in the 2024 Parliamentary election. This comes at a time when the people of TN are awaiting a political change that will take TN towards the destiny of development,” he posted on social media platform ‘X’.
Another key constituency Kanniyakumari will have a familiar face in Pon Radhakrishnan. The former Union Minister was the BJP’s lone winning candidate in 2014 when he beat Congress’s H. Vasanthkumar from this seat. But he lost the election five years later.
Tamilisai Soundararajan, who resigned from her post as the Telangana governor, is the BJP candidate from Chennai South constituency. With a vast experience of holding various organisational roles in the party since 1999, the former BJP state chief’s return is being seen as a boost to the BJP due to her familiarity with the state.
L. Murugan is fielded from the Nilgiris, another key constituency which the party is expecting to win. Located in the state’s western region, where the BJP has a significant vote share, the senior leader will be facing DMK heavyweight and sitting MP A Raja. The constituency, which has never supported the incumbent party since 2000, had voted for the BJP in 1998.
Apart from the four leaders, the other five candidates are BJP Yuva Morcha leader Vinoj P. Selvam (Chennai Central), A.C. Shanmugam (Vellore), C. Narasimhan (Krishnagiri), T.R. Paarivendhar (Perambalur), and Nainar Ragendran (Thoothukudi).
While the BJP is said to be planning to contest from 20 of the total 39 seats, the Pattali Makkal Katchi will field candidates in 10 constituencies. Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar), Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam, Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi, New Justice Party are among its other allies.
The BJP went for a rainbow alliance after its long time ally All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) parted ways in September last year.
The party, which had contested as part of the AIADMK-led alliance, had contested from five seats but failed to open its account in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Kanniyakumari was the lone seat it won in 2014. The BJP’s vote share fell from 5.5 percent in 2014 to 3.66 per cent in 2019.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: Ex-DMK MP, 15 ex-MLAs from across parties in Tamil Nadu join BJP — ‘points to growing support for Modi’