'Will Stand Shoulder To Shoulder': Annamalai Vows Aggressive NDA Campaign After BJP Opts Not To Field Him In Assembly Elections

Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai on Friday said he will campaign for NDA candidates with the aim of securing victory in 210 seats, shortly after the saffron party released its list of 27 candidates for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

Taking to X, Annamalai shared the list and congratulated the BJP candidates, saying, “They carry the support of every brother and sister of Tamil Nadu who is tired of corruption, complacency, and the DMK’s betrayal.”

He also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “visionary leadership” and criticised the “arrogant” DMK government for holding the state back.

“I, as a karyakarta, will stand shoulder to shoulder and campaign for all our BJP and NDA candidates, with the aim of the alliance winning 210 seats in the upcoming Assembly elections,” he said.

Earlier reports had suggested that Annamalai opted out of contesting due to dissatisfaction with the BJP-AIADMK seat-sharing arrangement. Another report indicated that Coimbatore South MLA Vanathi Srinivasan and Annamalai were vying for a seat in Coimbatore district.

Under the alliance deal, the BJP will contest 27 seats, while the PMK has been allotted 18. The AMMK will contest 11 seats, the TMM five, the IJK two, and the TMMK one. Sources said BJP state president Nayinar Nagendran may contest from Sattur for the first time.

Tamil Nadu will go to the polls on April 23, with counting scheduled for May 4.