Annamalai venture to dent not just BJP, other parties too

Chennai: The exit of K Annamalai from BJP and the launch of a new political movement has marked the beginning of a fresh churn in Tamil Nadu politics.

The immediate impact of Annamalai’s move was felt by the BJP. Senior functionaries like state vice president Karu Nagarajan and Coimbatore south district president K Vasantharajan announced their resignation from BJP. ``Annamalai has a special quality and vision. Hence we have decided to support him,’’ Nagarajan said.

Though BJP appeared unfazed, there were signs of more functionaries leaving BJP to join his movement. Even before his resignation, posters had come across several parts of the state expressing support to Annamalai. ``We will not deny his contribution to BJP. But the party is not dependent on one individual. We will have more Annamalais,’’ said BJP spokesperson Narayanan Tirupathy.

AIADMK which is embattling multiple electoral defeats and an internal strife would the next in line to suffer an impact. While Annamalai may draw the gounder votes in western TN, a community to which he belongs to and which has largely backed AIADMK, cadres of the opposition party from other parts of the state might also back Annamalai.

Other parties too are unlikely to be immune to Annamalai’s venture. TVK, for instance, may suffer an impact as people who voted for a change, might find an alternative in Annamalai. A section of those who backed Vijay in the election but got disenchanted with TVK govt’s functioning might shift support to Annamalai.

Political observers note that TVK’s rapid rise may itself have influenced Annamalai’s decision. The election demonstrated that the Dravidian majors were no longer invincible and that voters were willing to back a new political force if it offered a compelling alternative.

Political commentator Rajan Kurai, however, sees a larger political calculation behind the venture. “There is a design behind Annamalai’s political project. The idea could be to polarise voters by projecting Vijay as a Christian CM. But such a strategy is unlikely to succeed in Tamil Nadu,” he said.

Kurai said the success of TVK reinforced the belief that social media could be used to shape political outcomes. “But that too will not work for Annamalai. DMK has learnt from its mistakes and is likely to mount a stronger counter-narrative on social media,” he said.

Poll watchers say DMK may not see an immediate impact on its core vote base, which has remained intact over years. In the short term, DMK may even welcome the emergence of another opposition force to take on TVK, which could further fragment anti-DMK votes. However, if Annamalai succeeded in creating a formidable regional party, then DMK may have to fight hard to retain its vote base, especially that of youth that it aims to capture.