Annamalai’s study abroad move upsets saffron party workers

CHENNAI: BJP state president K Annamalai’s decision to take a ‘short break’ from active politics has irked the workers of the saffron party. The IPS officer known to be a voracious reader and keen on doing residential certificate courses is all set to fly to United Kingdom to pursue a political course. The move by the young state president has invoked mixed response from the BJP workers.

Annamalai’s decision to join the certificate course comes after the major poll debacle under his leadership in the state. The four months (17 weeks) residential programme in International Politics is a prestigious course offered by the University of Oxford. As per the schedule, the course starts in September and the BJP leader will be away from local politics till end of this year.

A few welcome, Annamalai’s decision to take a sabbatical, but party old timers fume against their leader for his decision to “leave the party at a critical time.”

According to a senior BJP leader, who is also a core-committee member, Annamalai had smelled something wrong for him, so he has decided to leave abroad. “While our national president JP Nadda’s (who was inducted into the Modi 3.0 Cabinet recently) tenure is likely to be extended till the end of the Maharashtra, Haryana and other state’s Assembly elections, our high-command is exploring the possibilities of re-appointing Annamalai or appoint a new state president for TN,” said the BJP leader.

Another state-level functionary told this newspaper that the decision of Annamalai is not good for the party, particularly a state like Tamil Nadu. “In a tough battleground like Tamil Nadu, where the BJP has no grip, we need to do aggressive politics against the ruling DMK and its allies and their ideology. Annamalai, who has been the leader for the past 3 years, has been somewhat aggressive and proactive. The IPS turned politician has kept the party in the limelight making headlines. A politician should be grounded and going to study abroad will affect BJP’s political momentum. The national high-command is exploring multiple ways over the state’s presidential post,” the functionary said seeking anonymity.

“He is trying to escape by saying that he is going abroad to study a certificate course, which will not even help him or the party. Such decisions can go against the image that he has built for himself,” another senior leader from Southern Tamil Nadu told DT Next.

“BJP is never dependent on any individual. The party high-command will soon appoint a suitable person to fill the vacancy. It is enough to have a manager to develop the BJP in Tamil Nadu by implementing the strategies of the high-command and a leader is not needed here either,” the leader said there are also women leaders in the state aspiring for the top post.

Dismissing the simmering fire within the party, BJP senior leader Ra Arjuna Murthy said that during the absence of the state-president, the state general secretary (organisation) would run the party without any hindrance and there is no room for speculations on the appointment of acting president or any change in the state president post.