Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai, on Saturday, said he had voluntarily opted out of contesting in the upcoming assembly elections scheduled to be held on April 23. Clarifying that he had already informed the Delhi high command in writing about his decision to stay away from the electoral fray, Annamalai said he will explain the reason behind his decision after May 4.
“The truth is that I decided not to contest. It is not that I was denied a ticket. I had already informed the core committee in writing that I will not contest,” Annamalai told the media. On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in Chennai, on his way to Puducherry for the election campaign, held a meeting with the BJP senior leaders, including Annamalai, at a private hotel. The meeting, which lasted for 45 minutes, was convened to discuss the BJP’s strategies for the upcoming election. Modi, according to party insiders, discussed with the senior leaders on the ground situation, the BJP’s plans and the NDA’s prospects.
The meeting was attended by BJP seniors, including Union minister for commerce and industry and BJP’s election in-charge for Tamil Nadu, Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan, state president Nainar Nagendran and seniors like Pon. Radhakrishnan, Tamilisai Soundararajan, and K. Annamalai. During the meeting, it was said that Modi discussed with everyone on the ground situation and “no importance was given to Annamalai”. Though it was said that Annamalai was asked to rush from his campaign at Kannur to meet Modi in Chennai, party insiders say that there was no such effort.
However, Piyush Goyal, who is the in-charge for TN unit of the BJP, said the party will miss Annamalai in the fray, but there was no all-out effort to convince him. In fact, his name did not even appear in the probable candidate list that was sent to Delhi. But at the last moment, the high command felt that he had to be given an opportunity, as he had worked hard for the party. But that too was dropped later as Annamalai was not willing to contest from Modakurichi and was expecting a “winnable” seat.
