BJP releases candidates' list for TN; Annamalai enters the battleground
An aide of Annamalai revealed to DT Next that the former IPS officer had done an individual survey in Coimbatore and Pollachi Lok Sabha constituencies where he had a winning possibility and found the urban based Coimbatore constituency better for his electoral journey.
State BJP president K Annamalai
CHENNAI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday fielded its all heavy weights as candidates in Tamil Nadu for the April 19 Lok Sabha polls.
The saffron party seems to be ambitious and is leaving no stoneunturned.
BJP's Central Election Committee has decided to field the Union Minister of State, L Murugan, State President K Annamalai and former Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan for the ensuing general elections to the Lok Sabha from Tamil Nadu.
According to the third list of candidates' released by the BJP national general secretary Arun Singh, MoS L Murugan is to contest again from The Nilgiris constituency.
"Tamilisai Soundararajan, a former governor and lieutenant governor will be fielded from Chennai South, K Annamalai, state president will be fielded from Coimbatore, Former union minister Pon Radhakrishnan from Kanniyakumari, MLA Nainar Nagendran from Tirunelveli, Vinoj P Selvam from Chennai Central, C Narasimhan from Krishnagiri, " the list read.
New Justice Party founder AC Shanmugam will be fielded from Vellore and Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi founder TR Paarivendhar will contest in Perambalur in the BJP's Lotus symbol.
So far, the BJP CEC has announced candidates for nine Lok Sabha constituencies in Tamil Nadu.
According to the sources from Kamalalayam (State BJP headquarters), the BJP's high-command has pinned its hopes of big gains in the state on the dynamic young leader to become a MP from the party's stronghold West zone in Tamil Nadu.
"West zone of Tamil Nadu, where the party hopes that it can gain a significant number of votes and create an impact on par with the Dravidian majors, is one of our flexible areas in the state. Since our top brass wanted to get a good number of LS seats this time from Tamil Nadu, they have decided to field all the prominent faces of the BJP in the ensuing LS polls. His (Annamalai) candidature was decided by our CEC and this would be a major breakthrough for our other candidates and workers. He has prepared himself well for the battleground, " a senior leader close to Annamalai detailed the scenes behind Annamalai's candidature to DT Next.
An aide of Annamalai revealed to DT Next that the former IPS officer had done an individual survey in Coimbatore and Pollachi Lok Sabha constituencies where he had a winning possibility and found the urban based Coimbatore constituency better for his electoral journey.
Indicating the importance, the Prime Minister had done his first-ever roadshow in Coimbatore and paid homage to the 1998 bomb blast victims and Annamalai too had chosen Palladam for conducting the closing ceremony of his ‘En Mann En Makkal’ yatra in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated.
Annamalai to face ruling DMK's Ganapathi Rajkumar and AIADMK's Singai Ramachandran in Coimbatore.
Meanwhile, MoS L Murugan, who was recently elected as a Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh will contest in the Nilgiris constituency against DMK's A Raja.
Thanking for the opportunity, Annamalai said the announcement comes at a time when the people of Tamil Nadu are awaiting a political change that will make the state towards the destiny of development.
Heartfelt thanks to our beloved PM Thiru @narendramodi avl for constituting his faith in me and making me to 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…
— K.Annamalai (மோடியின் குடும்பம்) (@annamalai_k) March 21, 2024
He further exuded confidence and said the Tamil Nadu BJP unit will significantly contribute to realise the 400+ seats for the BJP-led NDA in the coming Parliamentary elections.
Here is the list:
Chennai South - Tamilisai Soundararajan
Chennai Central - Vinoj P Selvam
Vellore - A C Shanmugam
Krishnagiri - C Narasimhan
The Nilgiris - L Murugan
Coimbatore - K Annamalai
Perambalur - T R Paarivendhan
Kanniyakumari - Pon Radhakrishnan
Tirunelveli - Nainar Nagendran
Earlier in the day, BJP allocated three Lok Sabha seats to GK Vasan's Tamil Maanila Congress (M) and the TMC will contest in their own bicycle symbol.
