Tamil Nadu BJP’s “En Mann En Makkal” (my land, my people) padyatra helmed by state president K Annamalai has entered day 20 today amid much pomp and show. The six-month-long yatra was launched by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on 28th July from Ramanathapuram with an aim to strengthen BJP’s foothold in the state ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
PM Modi’s statue is also part of the padyatra with his speeches playing in the background. Huge crowds can be seen joining the yatra from wherever it passes and excitement is visible amongst the people underlining that BJP’s Annamalai has become a household name in the DMK-ruled state. The party under Annamalai has been working to fill the cultural gap between itself and the people of the state and also cornering the DMK government over charges of corruption.
Implying the success of the padyatra, a first-level constable named Karthik has said that he will resign from his job after he got inspired by the political journey of the BJP leader. Interestingly, Annamalai himself was a Karnataka cadre IPS officer who resigned from service in 2019 and joined the BJP in 2020.
The TN BJP President has been extensively conveying the benefits of the several schemes of the Central government. He has also taken on the Stalin government for its anti-NEET bill. Accusing Stalin of fostering enmity between the State and the Centre on the NEET issue, Annamalai said that the CM should release a White Paper on the performance of NEET students of Tamil Nadu in the past five years. He said this would “expose the lies of the DMK government.”
He has also been talking about the issue of dynasty politics. On 16th August, Annamalai hit out at the Kerala and Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers over nepotism. He has been taking on the local DMK leaders of the constituencies he is visiting in order to alter the mood of the people in favour of the BJP. The padyatra is scheduled to pass through Kanyakumari, and Nagercoil today.
The padyatra has also taken internet by the storm. The sea of supporters of Annamalai is sure to expand BJP’s base in the state which has for decades been dominated by Dravidian politics. Annamalai’s growing popularity is sure to make a dent in the traditional politics in the state.
The Stalin government has taken to its traditional language war issue in order to counter the Saffron party. Tamil Nadu Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on 17th August reportedly said that any attempt to impose Hindi will be opposed. In a recent controversy, a short video of a teenage boy identified as Fayazdeen talking about how he paid Rs 25 lakhs to get into the medical school run by DMK MP Jagathrakshakan got viral on social media.
In the video, the boy stated that financially strapped students would not be able to cover the complete course costs at the medical college owned by the DMK leader, which would total up to Rs 1.5 crores. Sree Balaji Medical College & Hospital was accused of fraud cases earlier in 2011 for allegedly collecting thousands of rupees in capitation fees while refusing applicants’ seats. The college apparently received almost 18 lakhs in capitation fees in 2010 but did not provide students with spots.
In the past two months, the BJP state President has released the “DMK Files” in a bid to shed light on the alleged corruption under the Stalin government. On 26th July, just two days ahead of the yatra being launched, Annamalai submitted a “trunk” of “DMK Files-2” that contained documents on the corruption charges against nine DMK ministers.