Can the man who has grown BJP in TN win an election?

Ask anyone who is not a hardcore DMKADMK faithful in Tamil Nadu they will admit that the BJP has seen some growth in the state all thanks to the efforts of the extremely polarising party president K Annamalai The only question the upcoming Lok Sabha election will answer is By how much The partyrsquos vote share last time was around 35 per cent in the stateAnnamalai 39 who took voluntary retirement as a Karnataka cadre IPS officer to join the BJP was expecting to campaign for candidates across the state But come the deadline for filing nominations he was asked by the party bosses to contest a seat himselfmdashCoimbatore which has already given the party an MLA in the last assembly elections Even way back in 1998 it had elected a BJP man CP Radhakrishnan to ParliamentReluctant fundamentalistThis put the barnstorming state president in a quandarymdashwhether to focus on his constituency or keep up with his state tour He has found some middle ground dividing his time between Coimbatore and the rest of the state His seniors and party bosses have pitched in campaigning with him or on his behalf when he is away Like Saturday when Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman flew into Coimbatore to galvanise the support of the women voters with a roadshow Annamalai is in the southern Theni district supporting an allyBJPrsquos women cadre await the arrival of Union Minister Niramala Sitharaman at Gandhipuram Coimbatore on SaturdayThough he helicopters in and out of Coimbatore BJPrsquos election managers are a happy lot They are more than satisfied with the response Annamalairsquos meetings are getting especially the crowd they got in the urban areas when he went campaigning on Thursday night They believe or know that the crowd was not organised by the party but organic comprising aam aadmi voters So enthused was Annamalai that he pushed past the 10 pm deadline earning him an FIR for breach of code of conductIIMLucknow vs IIMAAnnamalai is known to make outrageous allegations against opponents and move on when refuted For instance the prestigious PSGTech and IIM Lucknow alumni alleged that his ADMK rival Singai Ramachandran got into PSGTech only via an ldquoMLA quotardquo whatever that meant In fact Ramachandran later went to IIM Ahemedabad Ramachandran lost his dad aged 12 Even when presented with this fact Annamalai has neither retracted his statement nor apologisedThings got worse on Friday when Annamalai reportedly said the ADMK as we know it will be wiped out and current chief Edapadi Palaniswamy will no longer be the boss Ramachandran was so upset that he called a 30minute press conference on Saturday to refute all accusations levelled by AnnamalailsquoHis fight is versus NOTArsquoSitting down with midday later Ramachandran said about the unsavoury comments ldquoMaybe it is the fear of failure that makes people say stupid things The BJPrsquos fight in Tamil Nadu is with NOTA the party routinely finishes below NOTA numbers in many constituencies and they should focus on thatrdquoTN Industries Minister TRB Rajaa second from left campaigns for Ganapathy Rajkumar who seeks votes at PeelameduRamachandran who is the ADMK IT Cell head also stresses on Annamalairsquos outsider status in both Coimbatore and Tamil Nadu ldquoHe lost in neighbouring Karur and he has come to Coimbatore now Tomorrow he will lose here and happily move on to Chennai He has no skin in the game And then he brings Karnataka leaders to seek votes from Kannada speakers in Coimbatore Which is fine but one shouldnrsquot forget that these are the same leaders who say they will not give a single drop of water to TNrdquo he saidGST demonRamachandran and even the DMK contender Ganapathy Rajkumar are both assured that GST is a main concern in the industrial hub ldquoManufacturers of motors pumps grinders and textiles are all suffering The GST on job orders is 12 per cent We want it brought down to five per centrdquo Ramachandran said He also slammed the Stalin government for high power tariffs ldquoA medical store whose bill used to be Rs 6000 a month now pays Rs 12000 as electricity bill If we come back in the later assembly elections we will reduce itrdquo he saidThe genteel lit gradRounding off the threeway battle in Coimbatore is former mayor Rajkumar a former ADMK man who joined the DMK in 2020 citing loss of respect in his earlier party Facing off against two MBA grads Rajkumar is no academic slouch himself with an English literature degree and a PhD on Jayalalithaarsquos growth and popularity as a mass leaderAIADMKrsquos Coimbatore candidate Singai Ramachandran addresses the media to deny accusations and slights flung by BJP rival K Annamalai on Saturday PicsKrishnakumar PadmanabhanOn Saturday evening his party minister TRB Rajaa was there to campaign for him at Peelamedu not very far from where Sitharaman was campaigning for Annamalai Rajkumar started his evening with a temple visit as party men decked in DMK colours waited outside A strange sight for the famously proatheist party29paise PMRajaa began by laying out the options in front of voters saying the DMK always comes to people with a list of its programmes and achievements like honorarium for homemakers and free bus rides for all women ldquoBut what does the ADMK have to tell you They are in no manrsquos land in this national election Neither with the NDA nor with INDIA They cannot be part of any national government Donrsquot waste your vote on themrdquo he saidAnd between the two national coalitions what does the NDA have to offer he wondered ldquoDo you know why my friend Udhay Stalin calls him 29paise Modirdquo he asked the crowd ldquoBecause of every rupee we pay as tax only 29 paise returns to the state Ok fine We are a developed state What do they use this money for in underdeveloped states Not one school has been built They build giant statues that serve no purpose So there is only one coalition to vote forrdquoRajkumar stood with folded hands as Rajaa ended his speech as the convoy moved to the next street corner His demeanour has given rise to nasty rumours that he is a lightweight posted by the DMK to ensure all the antiAnnamalai votes consolidate with the ADMK Either way what stood out in the DMK campaign is that unlike the ADMK they do not mention Annamalai much like it is somehow beneath them All their barbs are aimed directly at the PMSocial media warsBack at the ADMK office Ramachandran has a war room And it is undeniable that Annamalai is front and centre of the conversations between the candidate and his managers That Annamalai tendency to hit and run has the ADMK candidate worried They started a video campaign on the fly on Saturday evening hoping to scotch the BJP chiefrsquos accusations Within five minutes the video is sent out to party groups from where it will go out to the general publicldquoThe mood was aggressive but the answers were defensiverdquo was one war room managerrsquos verdict ldquoWe were just replying to his allegations We should make some counterallegations against himrdquo Ramachandran is not convinced ldquoWhy should we put him on an equal footingrdquo But he promises to consider the suggestion Therein lies Annamalairsquos first win irrespective of the election outcomeNirmala Sitharaman takes part in allwomen poll rally in CoimbatoreSenior BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman participated in an allwomen election rally taken out here on Saturday by the partyrsquos women wing members in support of state president and Coimbatore candidate K Annamalai Speaking to reporters Sitharaman said that based on her interaction with women selfhelp group members and other sections it was clear that people decided to support the BJP in the April 19 Lok Sabha polls ldquoThey would ensure a clear mandate to Annamalai toordquo Sitharaman said at the conclusion of the massive rally The Union finance minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi not only launched numerous welfare schemes but also reviewed their implementation and made sure that the benefits reached the people