Annamalai stays back in Delhi; TN party meeting put off

CHENNAI: A week after the AIADMK walked out of the BJP-led NDA alliance in the state, the saffron party leaders are busy holding multiple meetings in national capital easing out poll strategies to strengthen its alliance in the Dravidian heartland.

The grapevine is that the Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been vested with the job of stitching a formidable alliance that will help to propel the chances of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s returning to the coveted post in 2024 polls.

Sources from the BJP said state president K Annamalai, who reached Delhi on Monday evening, called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National General Secretary (Organisation) BL Santhosh and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. He was accompanied by Bengaluru South MP and friend Tejasvi Surya.

“In all the meetings with BJP top leaders, Annamalai was asked to explain the real reasons behind the unexpected crack in the NDA alliance. The high command was also exploring other possibilities for the alliance in Tamil Nadu where 39 Lok Sabha seats are at stake. They further discussed the internal issues in the state BJP and the ongoing padayatra of Annamalai. Later, the former IPS officer was asked to stay in New Delhi for ‘sometime’,” sources added.

Meanwhile, speculation is that the Annamalai’s wings may be clipped as the party is mulling over the idea of forming a high-level committee of top BJP leaders to chalk out the alliance strategies, hold parleys and proceed with the seat sharing talks with the existing NDA allies.

“The BJP high command seems to be upset with the exit of AIADMK. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to take care of the state’s affairs henceforth and she is likely to have a crucial role in forming the NDA alliance in TN. With the TN BJP chief being asked to stay in Delhi, the state unit had postponed the district presidents and core committee members meeting scheduled on Tuesday.

Dismissing abounding speculations of confusion in the state unit, BJP’s Tamil Nadu vice-president Narayanan Thirupathy said that there is no commotion in BJP as Annamalai is in Delhi to meet our leaders and this is a routine issue. “It is a routine work of the state president to call on BJP leaders in Delhi. As the state BJP chief is busy in Delhi, the state core committee meeting is postponed. All is well in the party and there is no room for speculations, he added.