‘Have To Go Where Real Fight Is’: BJP’s K Annamalai On Fighting Lok Sabha Polls From Coimbatore

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai during the closing ceremony of the BJP’s ‘En Mann Ek Makkal’ padyatra, near Palladam in Tirupur on February 27, 2024. (PTI)

Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai, who hails from Karur, but is fighting the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from Coimbatore, said he was contesting from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) bastion as he wanted to be where the real fight was.

Speaking to CNN-News18, the former IPS officer said, “I have to go where the fight is. It is a clear message that we are sending. Coimbatore will elect BJP with record margin.”

He added that his party was involved in clean politics and the people of the constituency had faith in him.

“I am sure that BJP’s remarkable performance in Coimbatore will set the tone for politics in the state,” he said.

On allegations of campaigning beyond stipulated hours, the leader said, “I was only meeting people. Denying them would be arrogance.”

Coimbatore is an industrial hub situated in the foothills of the Western Ghats and is a unique constituency in Tamil Nadu where ‘national and state politics intersect. With a mix of enterprising Gounders and Naickers, Dalits, Thevars, and a sizable number of Muslims, Coimbatore has been AIADMK’s bastion for a very long time. The party-led alliance won all 10 seats in the 2021 elections that saw the DMK returning to power after a decade.

K Annamalai’s response to Dayanidhi Maran’s joker remark

Responding to former union minister Dayanidhi Maran’s ‘joker’ remark against him, Annamalai said, “The world’s greatest leader (PM Modi) has replied to him. It would not be nice for me to say anything after that.”

DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Minister Dayanidhi Maran had recently dismissed Annamalai as a “joker” and a “lame duck” who was being “overestimating” for his role in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024.

Hitting back at Maran, PM Modi said, “DMK is full of arrogance of power. One of their leaders, when asked about Annamalai, with arrogance asked: Who is that? He used insulting words. This arrogance is against the culture of Tamil Nadu. This arrogance will never be liked by the people.

He said Tamil Nadu had a special place in PM Modi’s heart. He said, “The PM’s appreaciation for me denotes his appreciation for my state.”