Star Candidate: K Annamalai/ BJP

CHENNAI: IPS officer-turned-BJP politician K Annamalai, taking an unenviable task against a bipolar political set-up dominated by DMK and AIADMK, is contesting in the Coimbatore constituency this time. Apart from proving the mettle of the party across the state, he has to make a mark in Coimbatore to walk the talk.

The 30-year-old Annamalai, hailing from Thottampatti village in Karur, is an engineering graduate and an IIM-Lucknow alumnus. In his more than 2-year tenure as BJP state unit chief, Annamalai has positioned himself as an ambitious chief who never wants to settle to play second fiddle to Dravidian parties-as seen in how he shrugged off alliance talks with AIADMK which was once considered a natural ally for the saffron party.

Starting as an IPS officer in the Karnataka cadre from 2011 to 2019, Annamalai soon crafted a new path for himself by joining BJP in August 2020. He swiftly ascended to the role of BJP state vice-president in 2020 and was later appointed as the youngest president of the Tamil Nadu BJP unit in 2021 July, replacing L Murugan.

Annamalai believes TN has a political vacuum after the demise of AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, moving beyond the talks of providing an alternative to the Dravidian parties. Known for his fiery speeches and aggressive sound-bite politics against the Dravidian majors, he has landed in many controversies but never seems willing to budge.

The BJP’s top brass is investing all its assets in this young leader to boost the party’s vote share in the state. Unlike his predecessors, Annamalai took a plunge to form a mega alliance under his leadership, instead taking shade under a Dravidian party.